Settling in, together
by jacketandboots
Summary: Post Blue Bird. Jane and Lisbon had two weeks before returning to work. A story on how they explored the new relationship with Jane helping Lisbon getting re-acquainted and many more things. Jisbon moments and fluff. Rated T but may move to M in some chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

 **Hello everyone. This is my first fanfic ever. I always wondered how Jane and Lisbon spent their first two weeks after getting together. So I made up a story about it. Hope you guys like it. Reviews are appreciated. I don't own the Mentalist. And sadly, will never own it.**

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"Say it again."

"Say what again?"

Lisbon looked at him with raised eyebrows and a hint of amusement on her face. But then Jane slowly rose from his chair and leaned towards her. His injured ankle still on the other chair he slowly took her chin. Lisbon could only close her eyes with her lips slightly parted. They kissed gently at first. Lisbon took his right cheek in her hand as they continued kissing.

The TSA agent knocked on the window angrily and yelled, "Hey! Quit that!"

But both of them were in their own little world as they kept kissing softly. They smiled shyly at each other for a moment and then Jane sat back on his chair with one last peck. His ankle could only bear much strain after all.

"You need me to say _that_ again?"

Lisbon blushed as he smirked at her. After a moment she asked, "How long till you can leave?"

"Abbott will need to sort things out here."

"Oh I need to talk to him about my transfer… retransfer…" Lisbon was a bit embarrassed.

"Teresa, as soon as he sees you here, he'll know your decision. Probably already knows." Jane stated with a grin.

Once again Lisbon's cheeks colored.

Suddenly serious Jane began, "Teresa you know how I feel about you. But I want to tell you that this is not just because I didn't wanted you to go to DC, I… I mean I didn't express my feelings only because I wanted you to stay, but because I really meant all of what I said. And I probably should have said this a long time ago. But you leaving me just…"

"Jane…"

He sighed. He knew he was rambling.

Amused, "Yeah it's interesting seeing you like this."

"All thanks to you, woman."

She laughed a bit at that. Oh, how he missed seeing her dimples. He promised himself he would make Teresa Lisbon smile and laugh whole-heartedly every chance he could muster.

Realizing Jane was observing her, she suddenly became conscious. "What?"

"Just missed seeing you like this. You haven't smiled like this recently. Not in front of me at least."

She sighed, "Yeah I haven't, have I?"

Jane smiled a bit realizing that Lisbon didn't mention that Pike made her smile truly and fully. _'Hmm, maybe she wasn't happy with Pike after all (or she did try but couldn't be)'_ he thought to himself. _'Ofcourse she wouldn't be here with you if that was the case you dumbass!'_

"Jane, you are staring again."

"Just appreciating the sight, it's a nice change after all those TSA agents."

Blushing, "Jane! Stop it."

"You my dear, look wonderful when blushing."

She took his hand in hers, looking lovingly at him.

Jane's stomach rumbled and Lisbon gave a smile. He remembered he hadn't eaten anything after last morning's breakfast and tea. Dinner didn't go as planned. But everything was so worth it. Everything was worth this beautiful woman sitting in front of him holding his hand and smiling, choosing him, LOVING him!

"Hungry Jane?"

"Yeah." Hers rumbled too. She shook her head, amused.

"Once you're cleared we'll have a bite at the Blue Bird."

"The Blue Bird?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah why not?"

"I thought you wouldn't want to go back there after…"

She interrupted, "Well someone promised me a great dinner. But I can work with lunch too."

Jane grinned at that. "Then lunch you shall have, my lady!"

They kept looking at each other but refrained from kissing again. Jane didn't need more trouble after all. Although he hoped Abbott arrived soon to release him. Then he would finally express his feelings the way he should have expressed a long time ago.

But he settled for a simple statement, for now.

"I love you, Teresa Lisbon."

"I know. I do too, Jane."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 **Hey guys! I hoped you liked Chapter 1. This story is gonna have more chapters than I thought. I hope you stick to the journey. Reviews are always welcome.**

 **I don't own The Mentalist and bear no economic benefits from this story.**

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Abbott hoped clearing Jane won't be a tedious job. He knew he had to convince TSA a lot for not pressing charges for the stunt Jane pulled. He sighed. Cho had taken Fischer in Jane's rented car to get back to Austin. Abbott had to book a cab as Jane had taken his car on the way to the airport. Abbott requested the front desk for it while he finished up the work.

When Abbott mentioned the stunt Jane pulled to his team, he expected Fischer's surprised "He did what?" and Cho's stoic "It's Jane." Cho knew Jane cared a great deal about Lisbon. But now knowing that it was not the brother-sister kind of care was a new thing for him.

Abbott reached the airport mid-morning. He made his way by flashing his FBI badge. He saw the rented SUV on his way in. _'Thank God he atleast pulled the keys off the ignition.'_ He made his way to the cell and saw Jane and Lisbon holding hands on the table and looking lovingly at each other. They were in their own little world.

He cleared his throat to make his presence known. Lisbon's cheeks colored and she stood up removing her hand from Jane's. _'She did stay after all'_ , Abbott smiled.

"Boss…"

"Lisbon… Jane…"

Jane just looked at both of them in amusement. Abbott took a look at Jane's injured ankle and shook his head.

"So you did get here in time."

"Yes I did."

"And it looks like it worked well."

Lisbon's cheeks couldn't have been redder. She always hated being the center of attention.

Abbott added, "I got the general idea of your stunt from the TSA agent outside, Jane. He also said that you used FBI's name in this."

Lisbon frowned. She didn't even think about that. "How did you get in the plane? Showed your badge?"

"Umm…"

Abbott interrupted, "He left his badge at the hotel room, Teresa."

"What? Then how did you manage to get there in the first place?"

Jane began," I took Abbott's SUV to the airport. I left it at the entrance and got to the security check."

Abbott cut in, "Thank you for taking the keys with you."

Jane nodded sheepishly. He continued, "They wouldn't let me in without my badge. I checked the flight details for DC and went through the back. I had to climb a fence to get to the plane. I climbed as fast as I could and jumped on the other side thus…" he pointed to his ankle.

Lisbon looked at him with shock and blinked once. Abbott looked with half admiration and half pity. Jane went on, "I shouted at the guy to keep the stairs so I could get in and told the stewardess to let me in. She asked if there was any problem and I replied with _'FBI, routine check'…_ " he glanced at Abbott "and you know the rest."

Lisbon couldn't even begin to comprehend what Jane said. She didn't understand whether to be amused, angry or proud. Abbott had a small smile on his face.

"So Jane, help me with this. Do you think they will just let go of all this without pressing charges? Because the flight was delayed after that. The TSA agent mentioned this."

"That wasn't my doing, Dennis." He looked at Lisbon with amusement.

Lisbon admitted embarrassingly, "Yeah Boss. It delayed because of me."

Abbott sighed, "Well then. I suppose you are staying here Lisbon."

"Yes."

"I'll talk to the agent. Apologize to him as you're under my leash." He looked towards Jane.

"Thank you Dennis. I owe you one."

"Yeah you do. Lisbon, is this the kind of mess Jane used to get himself in while at CBI?"

Lisbon laughed, "Nothing like this Boss."

Jane cut in, "Tell them I won't ever do anything like this again. Teresa is staying after all."

 _God, how many times was he going to make her blush in front of their boss?_

But Abbott didn't seem to mind. Sighing, "All right you too. I'll talk to the agents now. We can leave for Austin after that."

"Actually I was wondering if Jane could get the day off. He could use some rest after all this. Plus we need to check on his ankle."

Jane cut in, "I'm fine guys."

"You hush!"

Abbott shook his head in amusement. "Fine Lisbon he can have the day off. And I'll need to talk to you about your paperwork now that you're going to rejoin."

"Yes Boss. I'm going to be staying with you guys."

Abbott nodded at that and left. Lisbon turned back to Jane who had a bright smile on his face.

"What?"

"It felt good when you _said it again_."

Lisbon smiled in return. "Well I said that when I came here, didn't I?"

"My dear, I'll never get tired of hearing that."

Jane was cleared an hour later with a warning. Both of them went to the exit and then at their SUV. Lisbon kept his arm over her shoulders to help him while he limped. He got in the passenger seat and then she drove to the nearest hospital.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you so much for your reviews. Here's another chapter. Special thanks to missdonnie who liked my spin to this story. I hope everyone likes this chapter too.**

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It took longer than expected for Jane to get checked. The doctor assured them that it was just a sprain but Jane had over-exerted it. So he wouldn't be able to walk properly for a couple more days. He advised Jane to apply ice-packs whenever possible and gave some pain killers. Lisbon patiently filled out his paperwork while he continued to grumble. Jane always hated hospitals. But Lisbon was used to him complain about anything.

When they made it out of the hospital, both were exhausted. The events of the previous day were catching upon them. Jane was about to comment on their lunch plans but Lisbon beat him to it.

"Can we have lunch somewhere else? I don't think I have the energy to wait till we reach the lodge."

"Took the words right outta my mouth."

"Let's search a diner nearby. We can have dinner at the lodge and spend the night."

"Okay." He smiled at her. They both knew they had a lot of time to spend together now that they were together. Jane was looking forward to it. He couldn't wait to shower Lisbon with his affectionate gestures. But it could wait, for now.

"Jane?"

"Mm?"

"I still have those dresses."

That brought a grin on his face. "You kept them?"

Matching his grin, "Yeah they were so beautiful. Throwing or leaving them didn't feel right."

They went to a decent diner and Jane ordered chicken club sandwich and ofcourse- tea. He was deprived of tea since last morning. Lisbon ordered a hamburger with fries and coffee. They dug in their food for a few bites and Jane started stealing fries from her plate.

After a while Jane asked, "What are you planning to tell Pike? Other than the obvious?"

Lisbon groaned. She had completely forgotten about Marcus while basking in the happiness. She had switched off her cell while entering the plane and later forgot to turn it on. _Oh God, Marcus would have called so many times. It's been hours since I talked to him. He was going to pick me up at the airport!_

She didn't feel hungry anymore. She remembered everything now. Not that she had forgotten anything, but what happened at the airport totally threw Marcus's thoughts out of her head. She had agreed to marry him and Jane didn't know that. Maybe he knew, he always knew everything about her. Or maybe he didn't. She knew she regretted saying "yes" to Marcus the moment the words came out of her mouth. She never loved him. He just brought some normal in her life when she needed it the most. She had lost her heart to Jane a long time ago. Jane never reciprocated the feelings till now. She knew he cared for her but she was tired of waiting for him when he clearly didn't want to take any efforts. That's why she found herself normal around Marcus. He was truly a nice guy. He was everything a woman would expect. Attentive, caring, good job. He was the perfect person- on paper. She knew a simple "I'm sorry" won't work at all. How was she going to explain things to Marcus? When Jane asked her about Pike at the airport she simply replied him with "He'll understand". But would he really? Understand? She was about to break the heart of a good man. This was such a mess. She took her head in her hands mindful of the greasy fingers.

"Jane, I totally forgot about it. My cell is off and I didn't even remember to put it back on. He must have left so many messages. He might be even waiting for my call."

"I'm sorry Teresa I brought this up."

"No no what are you apologizing for? I have to talk to him as soon as possible. Explain him everything."

Jane reached over the table and took her chin for the second time in the day although the circumstances were much different. And a simple kiss wasn't going to comfort her. For once, he couldn't think of anything.

Gently, "It'll be okay, Teresa." It was all he could come up with.

"You don't know that."

"I know it will be."

"This is something I have to do by myself Jane." She was right. This was.

"Do you feel guilty?"

Lisbon was shocked by this question. Eyes wide, "What? Why would you think that?"

"I thought you were feeling guilty for… choosing me over him. Are you afraid that you'll regret your decision if you don't talk to him soon?"

Now she was angry. "Jesus no! Not everything is about you, Jane. I don't feel guilty about us. This feels so right. What I meant is the more time I take to talk to him the more hurt he will be. After agreeing to marry him-"

Jane cut in. "What" He was genuinely surprised.

 _Hmm, he didn't know after all._

"Marcus asked me to marry him and I said yes."

"When was that?"

"Right after I submitted my transfer paperwork to Abbott. In the bullpen, actually. He came to ask me if there was any problem with the paperwork."

"I was there!"

Sadly, "I know."

"So when did you agree to…" He couldn't finish the words. But he really wanted to know. He was a bit mad at Pike for proposing her without even a ring, or bending on his knee. This woman deserved the ultimate proposal anyone could imagine. With violins and flowers and the most unique ring available. And this man just asked her out of the blue.

"I told him yes after I left for the airport."

Jane couldn't meet her eyes. He looked down. He really was a selfish bastard. He hurt this amazing woman to the point she had to take a rash decision. And then chased her all the way. He didn't deserve her. Yet he couldn't imagine to lose her to another man.

But she hadn't said yes right away. She still kept giving chances to him to come around even after another guy had offered her the things she deserved. His heart swelled for her with love. She really was a angel. Just like all these years. But he still didn't know what he could offer her like Pike did. He would offer, though.

Jane couldn't decide how to comfort this woman. But he could see that she was trying to bite back the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes. He really couldn't see her cry. How many nights had she cried for him like this? Waiting for him to reciprocate the feelings. Or even make a move. He vowed himself not to make Teresa Lisbon cry again.

"Look Teresa. You don't have to ashamed for being in love with someone else."

She scoffed at him, "YOU! Out of all people you are telling me this!"

He ignored her scoff and continued, "I know Pike is a good person and doesn't deserve this. But so are you Teresa. You were about to live your life with a man who couldn't make you happy because you never loved him. He made you feel special and you liked it. Someone fussing over you. I know it's a great feeling as you have fussed over me for years. And you liked being at the receiving end of it for change. But you didn't love him, Teresa. I know this is my fault. I pushed you to him myself. I didn't accept the fact that I could love someone without hurting them. That made you closer to him and away from me. But I know he'll forgive you. Because you always forgive the ones you love."

Her voice small, she asked. "You really think so?"

"I know so." He couldn't help bring his mentalist phrase.

She gave him a small smile. Then she whispered, "You're a good man too, Jane."

"Hardly."

"You are." She insisted, ever stubborn. Both of them, actually.

"An argument for another time, my dear. Let's finish our meals."

They left a while later for the lodge. They decided to use only Jane's room. They knew neither of them were ready for crossing the boundaries anytime soon. And they were okay with that. The front desk lady looked at Lisbon for a moment remembering the incident. Jane bit back a grin and Lisbon tried not hit him. He was already injured.

Jane took a painkiller and lied down. Lisbon began thinking how to explain things to Marcus. She was exhausted but couldn't sleep because of the dreaded phone call. She wasn't ready to meet him for this. She would never be. _So much for being a grown up._ She decided she would call Marcus after Jane was fast asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Apologies for the delay. I blame my internet, Thank you so much for your reviews! Here's the next chapter :)**

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Lisbon switched on her cell to find 27 voicemails form Marcus. At the start they were simple "Give me a call as soon as you see this" but later ones were "I'm worried. Where are you Teresa?" and so on. Oh this was going to be harder than she thought. She recalled breaking her engagement with Greg when she was 19. She dialed Marcus's number and he answered at the second ring.

"Teresa? Where have you been? Are you alright? What's going on? I checked with the airport there were no flight delays. Are you there?"

"Yeah Marcus, I'm here. We need to talk."

"What's going on? Has something happened? When're you coming here?"

She closed her eyes. "No."

"No?"

"That's right Marcus. I'm not coming to DC."

"Do you have a new case?"

"No. but I'm not coming to DC. I'm staying in Austin."

Anxiously, "Look Teresa, if this is about getting married we can wait for as long as you want."

Why was he being so nice to her? Well he was always nice. But this was making her more nervous than she already was.

"Let me explain Marcus."

He sighed, "Okay."

She took a deep breath and began, "I'm not coming to DC. I'm not going to marry you. I love Jane and…"

He interrupted, "Wait! Jane? You told me you were just partners!"

"Please let me finish."

"Go on." He didn't try to hide his anger now.

She suddenly felt like sitting on the other side of the interrogation room. But she was going to confess everything even though loving Jane wasn't a crime. She wanted to do this. She had to do this.

"Jane and I were… are partners. But we are partners for more than a decade. You know I told you that. I started developing feelings for him along time. I always cared for him. And I know he cares for me too. In fact, he told me he loved me when I boarded the flight."

Marcus cut her off again, "What?" his voice raised.

"Yeah. He entered the plane and told me he loved me in front of all the people there."

"So just because he pulls some ridiculous stunt to tell you he loves you, you will forget everything we had and just go to him? Wait a minute, you already answered him didn't you?" Now he sounded hurt.

Marcus was entitled to his emotions. But so was she. She almost snapped back at him to make a sweet gesture sound like some 'stunt' but she had to be calm.

"Yes I did. I told him I felt the same way. Not because he did it in front of so many people but because it's the truth. It took me some time to decide, but I always knew what my answer would be if he said something like that."

"So what about what we had? You were in love with him even if you were with me?"

"If you think I used you, you're wrong. Jane never took any efforts before even if I gave him a lot of chances. All I'm saying is that I'm still in love with him. I just wasn't ready to acknowledge."

"I can't believe this!"

"I know. Even I didn't for a while. But now I do. I love Jane. I'm so sorry for what I did to you. I never meant to hurt you. It was the last thing in my mind."

"I don't know what to say."

"I'm not expecting you to forgive me. But I hope you understand. You're a good man Marcus. You deserve someone better. You deserve to be happy."

"Hmm…"

"One more thing."

"What's that Teresa?"

"I want you to know that whenever I was with you, it wasn't to make Jane jealous. I couldn't use anyone like that. I guess I was ready to move on with my life. But I realized that I really loved Jane despite everything. I just liked you very much."

He suddenly asked, "Does he make you happy?"

"Yes." She answered without missing a beat.

"Okay. What does he have to offer you?"

She was surprised by that. "We didn't get to talk about that. But we will at some point."

"Okay." He was no longer mad. He sounded defeated.

"I'm sorry Marcus. I hope you understand."

"You know I can't get mad at you Teresa. Atleast not for long. We always forgive the ones we love."

She bit back a smile. Jane had said those exact words to comfort her not too long ago.

"Thank you Marcus. Yet I'm sorry for the way it happened."

"Goodbye, Teresa. Be well."

"You too, Marcus. Take care."

He hung up. Lisbon didn't know she held a breath until she released it. She looked at Jane who was sound asleep. It was the result of the events from the previous day and the pain meds. Marcus asked her what Jane was offering. But she wasn't worried about that. She was still getting used to Jane telling he loved her. Her arrogant yet sweet consultant-partner loved her. She couldn't help but quote Jane. _Well that's lucky._

She lied down next to him facing him. She was totally drained, physically and emotionally. Yet she couldn't sleep. Jane loved her. Wow!

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 **Next chapter is my favourite! Stay tuned ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's the next chapter! My favorite one so far. Special thanks to rosepeony who knew my intentions and supported me with it. This was very difficult to write. Hope you guys enjoy :)**

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Lisbon managed to sleep for an hour and a half but Jane was out cold. _Perhaps I'm turning into an insomniac just like him._ She chuckled at that thought. She kept staring at the ceiling with her hands behind her head, too exhausted to get up and shower.

She thought about the time when she first met Jane. He looked like a mess with his tousled hair and crumpled clothes, like a lost puppy looking for a direction to follow. Although he knew his destination he still needed a path to follow, which Lisbon provided. Jane hated pity. He hated when people took pity on him after hearing about his family but Lisbon had approached him in her no-nonsense manner and had told him to clean up.

She liked all those paper frogs and paper swans Jane made for her after doing something reckless during a case. They always made her smile. Occasionally he brought a steaming cup of coffee just for her and a box of doughnuts for her and the team from Marie's- her favorite coffee shop. Apology bear claws were included too.

He had helped her team as well. He had become a part of their little dysfunctional family. He helped Cho when his old friend was murdered. Cho was a person who trusted only few people. But after that case Jane was in that list too. Jane was responsible for bringing Rigsby and Van Pelt together after that weird foot fetish case. He also taught poker tricks to Bertram so that he would grant the permission for Van Pelt to go to LA. He helped Minelli quit smoking and introduced him to May. They both were very happy together now. He even helped Hightower and to keep her and her kids safe when she was a target to Red John.

Her niece Annabeth liked Jane too. She always asked her Aunt Reese about the 'consultant guy' as she called him and asked if they were together already. Although Lisbon didn't like it one bit when Jane taught Annabeth to pickpocket.

She thought about all the families Jane helped after or during solving their case. 'Revenge is for fools and madmen' was what he said to the distraught mother and daughter. But when Lisbon asked him about it he replied with his classic 'Meh'. He had united a little girl to their grandparents after the case was finished. He cut a deal with a murderer so that a woman could get treatment for cancer. He took a little boy to his mother after Lisbon had arrested Volker. There were many more families which Jane had helped. Jane was really and truly a good man even if he thought otherwise.

Then there was her. She had secretly loved the emerald set he had gifted her. It was so beautiful. And how could she forget that cute pony? That was an amazing gift she had received for her birthday. How did he know she wanted a pony as a little girl? But that was Jane. He just knew this kind of things. When Jane was temporarily blind, he wanted to feel her face when she was smiling. _She owed him a superhero costume!_ After regaining his sight, her face was the first thing he saw. His smile told her he was genuinely happy to see her first. He had shot Hardy to save her life, the only person at that time who would lead him to Red John. And he killed him to save her. That's when she knew he really cared for her.

When she was accused of murder Jane helped her. He believed in her. She trusted him enough to tell him about her father's blackouts. He danced with her on her favorite song after the high school reunion case was wrapped up. He was a great dance partner. Actually, he was a great partner. Who would tap dance for her friends just to make her smile? She was her emergency contact back then. Maybe now as well.

Jane was terrified when O'Laughlin shot her. He was more terrified when Red John had drawn the smiley on her face. She had never seen him so flustered except during Red John cases.

He played poker with her for gummy dinosaurs- carnivores and herbivores both. He refused to work with Haffner and his team when she was suspended. He demanded she be back in the CBI else he was going to continue his antics. He refused to work for FBI without Lisbon.

Suddenly she realized something. _Oh_ _God I called him a selfish person! I told him he uses me for his own needs!_ She really was an idiot. Even if she was mad at him how could she say things like that? Jane spent over a decade trying to hunt the person who killed his family without even thinking anything else. But he never let her get in harm's way. Whenever he thought Lisbon was in danger he went his own ways to work on his plans. Jane never risked her life for that. How was he supposed to think he can love again? The sole focus of his life was taking revenge. After his revenge his focus was to stay away from prison. To be free. When he got the chance to do something good, he asked for Lisbon. No wait, he _demanded_ that she work with him. And Lisbon thought Jane didn't have feelings for her? Yes she was an idiot.

Jane always appreciated whatever Lisbon did for anything for him, even going with his devious schemes to catch a killer. He hated when people pitied him but Jane pitied himself. And no one ever tried to correct him, not even her. She didn't even try to make him feel better except a simple _"You okay?"_ But he was always there. By her side. For her. With her.

She had this job in Austin because of him. But instead of thanking him she got mad at him for _"taking decisions about her life"_

He was always there for her. Yet she taunted him by saying _"Marcus makes a point to be there for me."_

Lisbon quickly sat up and looked at Jane. He was still asleep. He looked so serene. For the first time after a decade he looked at peace. The lines on his face were faded. He looked… free. How could she hurt him by saying all those mean things to him?

She remembered their time in CBI when she used to yell at him. _You hardly do the things I want._ Then how could she expect him to tell her he loved her when she could do it as well? She knew she had to drag things out of him whenever he planned something to catch the killer. Patrick Jane never did things normally. Then why did she expect him to express his feelings just like that?

Her thoughts went to the night when he had been to her place with cannoli. What would have happened if he had actually told her what he felt instead of _"I want you to be happy, Lisbon."_ She was sure he was in tears after he left. So was she. What would have happened if she would have asked him then and there to tell her how he felt? What would have happened if she would have dragged it out of him that night? She remembered Jane asking her _"What does a girl want to hear?"_ Oh God, why didn't she drag it out of him or coax him to tell her how he felt? She was sure she would have ended things with Marcus without agreeing to marry him in the first place.

She called Jane a selfish person but was she any different than him? All he wanted was Lisbon to be happy and yet he was the last to know about DC. _Because it was hard for her._ But did she even try to imagine how hard it was for him? How devastated would Jane be if the only person he had relied all these years would be miles away from him? She was angry that Jane had hurt her in so many ways but didn't she hurt him by being with Marcus? That too in front of him?

Jane wasn't selfish. He was selfless enough to let her go so that she would be happy. And finally when he expressed his love for her all she replied him was _"It's too late, Jane."_ He had accepted that with all the grace he could muster. Her eyes misted at that.

Marcus wanted to know what Jane had to offer. But Lisbon knew Jane had already given her everything without expecting anything in return from her. He only wanted her to be happy and he was ready to let her go. That's because she never told him in her 'no-nonsense' way to stop doubting himself. She could understand not talking about his little slip when he shot her after hugging her. Red John was out there. She would have been a potential target if Jane had shown any feelings for her. She was almost sure that he meant what he said. Yet she had tried to talk about it. Then why not now?

Sure of her next words, she tried to wake him up. "Jane."

He didn't budge. She put her hand on his shoulder and gently shook him. "Jane?"

Sleepily, "Huh?"

"I'm sorry."

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 **Please review. I would appreciate it :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I'm overwhelmed by the reviews I got for the last chapter. However I must say I felt that the reviews seemed like a debate and weren't based on the chapter. I had mentioned in the summary that Jane and Lisbon were going to explore their relationship. It's not going to be a sprint. No I didn't re-iterate what the reviewers wrote about the chapters. This was my idea all along. The chapters are continuous events so far. A big thank you for the guest reviews and I'm really grateful for that. But please remember this is a journey. Despite knowing each other for a decade they still have to know a lot ABOUT each other. I have planned accordingly and will post as per that. Apologies if you don't like it.**

 **Special thanks to rosepeony and obsessedwithmentalist. You guys encouraged me and you deserved to be thanked. However I'm not under any other writer's influence and I'm writing this story as I have planned. The story will have a lot of moments where Jane and Lisbon think about certain things like they did in previous chapters but they will act on it together as time passes.**

 **Here's the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoy :)**

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Jane was still sleepy. "What?"

She repeated, "Jane I'm sorry for all the things I said before leaving for the airport."

He took her hand and pulled her close. "Shh, it's okay I deserved it."

She shook her head but lied down next to him anyway. "No you didn't. I-"

Jane cut her off. "Can we talk about this later love? I'm not up to the mark in being attentive right now. You need to rest as well. Try to sleep, will ya?" The pain meds were still making him drowsy.

She nodded slowly. "Okay."

Jane kept her close and kept his left hand around her waist and tucked her under his chin. She tried to sleep while listening to his soft heartbeat. Jane planted a kiss on her head and was asleep within minutes. But it took a while for Lisbon to doze off.

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He woke around 6 in the evening. But didn't try to wake Lisbon. He was happy watching her sleep besides him. For the first time, Lisbon was in such close proximity and he loved it. He decided he liked rumpled Lisbon the most. She looked adorable with her lips slightly parted and curled around him. He gently pushed a strand of hair behind her right ear. She stirred.

He smiled softly. "Hey."

She gave a lazy smile in return. "Hey yourself."

They stared at each other for a while, still smiling. Neither of them wanted to move. They had dreamt of this moment, imagined how it would be when it finally happened. Contentment was the word.

Finally Jane spoke. "I should take a shower. We have to go for dinner in a while."

Lisbon nodded and both got up. "You do that. Till then I'll decide which dress to wear." It was really hard to pick. All of them were gorgeous. Jane had a great taste.

He grinned, "You are always beautiful, my dear."

She blushed. "Go take your shower."

He mock-saluted her and made his way to the bathroom with a slight limp. He returned 15 minutes later fully dressed. His overnight bag contained a suit similar to the one he had wore before but the beach shirt had a pale blue shade which brought out his eyes. He had slight stubble but he looked good. Lisbon roamed his eyes on him appreciatively and he blushed. That was a new sight for Lisbon. Jane never blushed. She chuckled and went for her shower.

Twenty minutes later, Lisbon returned wearing the green full sleeved dress which was slightly above the knees. It wasn't tight but hugged her curves perfectly. Her hairs were damp and slightly curled at the ends. The smoky make up and the dark red lipstick suited her. She didn't have anything else besides her work boots but they went well with the dress.

Jane gazed at her approvingly and murmured, "Every man's dream."

A blush came on her cheeks. "Hush!" she managed to glare at him but failed miserably.

"You look beautiful, Teresa."

"You don't look too bad yourself." She stated while moving her hand on his lapel.

Jane quickly held her waist and pulled her impossibly closer. He kissed her softly. Lisbon sighed and he felt her smile on his lips. The need for air pulled them apart and Jane kept his forehead on Lisbon's.

"Let's get going." She whispered.

"Or we could just skip to dessert, my dear." He suggested playfully.

She chuckled. "I'm hungry Jane."

He replied huskily. "Oh, so am I."

Her breath had hitched but she managed. "I'm hungry for food."

He sighed dramatically and took a step back. "As you wish, after all I know how cranky you get if you're kept hungry."

She swatted his arm. "I do not!"

"Ow! See, you proved it yourself." He had a satisfied smirk on his face.

They enjoyed their dinner as any couple in love would. Stealing kisses, holding hands and feeding bites to each other. Lisbon was not the kind of person to be romantic in public unlike Jane, but she let it go. She was so happy that they were finally together. They finally were a real couple.

When they got back to the room Jane pulled Lisbon for a hug. He knew she was nervous so he didn't push for anything further. There were things needed to be asked and answered before they went for more. He pulled away and limped towards the bathroom to change for the night.

When he returned Lisbon was sitting by the edge of the bed. She looked at him and began, "About what I said earlier-"

He cut her off, "Why don't you change first? We can talk about it in a couple of minutes."

She returned five minutes later. Jane was sitting cross-legged in the centre of t he bed. He offered his hand to bring her close to him. She took his hand and sat in front of him. She took a moment to look at him. She had never seen Jane in his pajamas. She didn't even know that he owned them.

Jane told her, "Lisbon… Teresa, you don't have to apologize for anything. I'm the one who needs to apologize to you. I cheated, lied to you for getting what I wanted and didn't even think twice before hurting you. I still don't deserve you. But see, I'm selfish to not let you be with someone else. I don't know if I'm capable of making you happy and I-"

She almost yelled at him, "For God's sake Jane will you stop pitying yourself? Why are you beating yourself up for the things you're just assuming? Did you even care to know what I wanted? Wait a minute… You _knew_ what I wanted! You _knew_ how I felt about you! Why didn't you ever say something Jane?"

He held her arms and looked at her with piercing eyes. "You needed some normal in your life Teresa. And I'm nowhere near normal."

He released a deep breath and continued. "When I came at the CBI, I had only one goal in my mind- To avenge my family's murder. But somewhere along the years I started feeling differently about you. I don't know when it started but I realized it after I shot Hardy. I tried my best not to acknowledge those feelings. But they never got away. I never felt guilty for thinking about you the way I thought about Angela, but I thought it would distract me from my revenge. But later I said that I loved you before shooting you-"

"You remembered? I asked you about it and you said you didn't remember!" She looked at him with wide eyes.

He chuckled. "I remember it Teresa. I remember every moment spent with you. But I didn't want you to be a target for Red John. After I killed him I had no other option but to run away. Honestly, I never thought I would be alive after killing him. I couldn't risk hurting you after dropping my guard in front of you. If I would have been killed by him, or arrested and waiting for my death sentence, I don't know how I would look in your eyes and see you getting hurt even more."

Her eyes glistened. "Jane I didn't care about being a target. I had become a target for him the moment our team got the case. Regardless, I was always by your side. When you left us and went to Vegas, I prayed for you to be safe. You shunned me and I didn't even know how you were, where you were. I knew the risks of loving you, I knew my heart was going to be broken in a million pieces, but I didn't care. I wanted to be with you despite that. When you left me at the church after returning from Vegas, I cried for an hour in relief. I thanked God that he kept you safe, kept you alive. But when you left us… left me after killing Red John I thought you wouldn't return because you finally got what you always wanted. You got your revenge. I knew you cared for me, but just not enough to come back."

Jane wiped a tear from her cheek and she continued. "I prayed. I prayed a lot. I always asked God to keep you safe wherever you were. And when you sent me the first letter after six months, you wouldn't believe how happy I was. I thought there's still hope after all. And we met after a year and a half after that first letter and seeing you just made me ecstatic. It was so good to see you smiling, so peaceful and free. But you never brought up anything even then and… neither did I."

Jane's eyes were glassy. "I couldn't Teresa. I know I seemed happy but I wasn't. I missed you every day. And then it was so great to work with you again, to stand besides you again. But I was still the guy who couldn't make anyone happy. Yes I loved you but I felt as if I wouldn't be able to make you happy. I couldn't for a decade. What different would it be now?"

He took a ragged breath and continued "But then Pike came and you guys hit it off. You seemed happy with him and that's all I always wanted. I made my peace with it. But then I found out you were leaving and I realized that I wouldn't see you again. I couldn't imagine living like that. Those two years living alone without you in my sight were enough for me to know this. I knew I loved you. But you deserved to know what I felt. I even tried to tell you when I brought cannoli at your place but I couldn't. I'm so sorry for all the times I hurt you Teresa."

Lisbon confessed. "You know what I was thinking? If I dragged things out of you about what you felt, you might have told me. Just like at CBI when you didn't tell me your plans."

He chuckled lightly. "No. I wouldn't have. Because I wasn't sure I could keep you happy. I wasn't sure that it would have been enough to keep you here. "

Lisbon was a bit annoyed now. "For a mind reader, sometimes you really suck at it. All I wanted was to be with you, you jackass! I just wanted you to love me like I loved you, rest be damned."

Jane raised his hands in surrender. "Okay! Okay! I know that now. You know for being partners for more than a decade we really suck at communicating our feelings to each other."

She slowly smiled at that. "What about I offer you a deal?"

"I'm intrigued."

"How about when I share something, you share something back. Same goes for me."

Jane nodded. "Sounds good to me!"

They shook their hands. Jane couldn't help but grin at her sudden cop mode.

"Great! Now let's get some rest. We have a plane to catch tomorrow. We're going home."

Jane's smile brightened at the word 'home'. "Yes boss!" was all he could manage. Lisbon tucked herself under Jane's chin and held him like a koala. Jane put her hands around her and squeezed her for a moment. Both of them knew there was more to be said and shred but right now, they were happy. They went to sleep with smiles on their faces. This was just the beginning of understanding things, together.


	7. Chapter 7

**Apologies for the delay. And thank you so much for your reviews :D We all love our crime-fighting duo so much! Here's the next chapter. Hope you guys like it :)**

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The next morning it was Lisbon who woke a few minutes early than Jane. She pulled away a bit to look at his face. He seemed peaceful. She committed this sight to her memory. All these years, she kept wondering if something like this would happen even once and now finally they were together. Lisbon let out a sigh and settled back in his arms again. Instinctively, Jane pulled her closer and she smiled slowly at that.

She kept thinking how things were going to change. First she had to cancel the order she had placed to the movers to bring her stuff at DC. Then she would have to take it back at her condo and arrange everything again. But Lisbon kept thinking. _Maybe I could stay in a nearby hotel?_ She could stay in Jane's airstream but not for long. He was a man of few needs so he didn't have much stuff but Lisbon was used to stay in an actual place. _I'll think about it once we land in Austin._

Jane woke up an hour later and smiled at her. "Morning."

She smiled back. "Morning."

Jane still held her close feeling delighted. He would never let her go ever. She was perfect in his arms. It was like their bodies were made specially to meld into each other, like two parts of a jigsaw puzzle. Lisbon was his tiny pocket-rocket but so strong, physically and mentally.

"Want some breakfast?"

"What about we shower first? We can have breakfast and then check out." He suggested.

"Sounds good to me." She nodded.

She gave him a chaste kiss and went for her shower taking her clothes. He lay in bed for a couple of minutes and then booked a hotel room for her close to his RV park. He could invite her at the airstream only for a night, two at maximum. She needed her space.

When she came out of the shower she was dressed in her usual black jeans and a red shirt. He made his way to the shower limping less than he was yesterday. She called after him, "I'll check the flight timings for us."

"Okay!" was his only reply.

Twenty minutes later they were sitting in the restaurant with their go-to bags. Jane ordered eggs, pancakes and ofcourse- tea. Lisbon ordered a simple black coffee and buttered toast. Jane rolled his eyes at her order and called the waiter back and added a bearclaw and cancelled her toast. She shook her head. There was no winning against him.

After enjoying their breakfast both of them returned the rental SUV at the shop near the airport. Jane wished he still had that convertible as the weather was great. Lisbon had booked a flight and they had to board it in thirty minutes. While boarding the flight, Jane wanted to shove his FBI ID in the face of the guard. She was the same one who had asked his ID when he wanted to see Lisbon before her flight took off. He controlled himself and Lisbon watched him with an amused expression.

"Something you want to tell me?"

"She was the same guard on duty that day. Didn't let me in because I didn't have my ID."

She giggled, "She was just doing her job Jane."

He sighed, "I know. Still I wouldn't have to climb the fence. I'm not saying it wasn't worth it, it totally was. I just wouldn't have injured my ankle. It still hurts, woman!"

She just rolled her eyes at that.

When the plane took off and some time had passed, Jane couldn't help but think about the flight journey they had when they worked the case in Brooklyn. He still remembered her words. _You ran away from me again! I didn't know if you were returning back! What makes you think I want to work with you again after what you did all these years?_ He closed his eyes and released a deep breath.

"Hey. You okay?"

He sighed. "Yeah. I just keep thinking about the time when were in the flight going back to Texas."

She wasn't surprised. She was thinking about it as well. "And?"

"I want you to know I'm not leaving you. I'm not running away from you either. Not again, not ever. You're stuck with me now. I know I can be controlling at times but I really wanted to work with you again. I didn't want to imply that I have a right to your life but I thought this would be a good way to be around you again, to be besides you again. Just like old times."

She sighed, "Yes I know, Jane. I was mad at you for leaving like that. It was just like Vegas and the island all over again. I didn't know if you would be back. As for the job, yes it was a good opportunity for me but I was mad that you chose it for me."

He had a small smile. "But you got me socks."

"Handmade in Washington." She grinned.

He held her hand in his and Lisbon kept her head on his shoulder. He kissed her head and closed his eyes again to have a quick nap. But Lisbon couldn't help wondering if he would be true to his word about not leaving. What if she or any of the team member got in any danger? What then? Would he still stay by her side? Would he be there for her or get scared of losing her and just run away? Sure she was scared that something might happen to him in his plans for catching the killer and she would be devastated. But what about Jane? Well she would have to just see.

Jane wasn't napping though. His mind was clouded with different thoughts. Would he be able to keep Lisbon happy? She told him last night that she just wanted him to love her back. But would he be able to do that? He didn't know he was capable of loving again until now. Would she get mad at his ways for catching the killer and leave him? Would she go for a better man, better than him or even better than Pike? She had always stood by his side all these years but what if one day she just decided she couldn't take it anymore? That's what she did after meeting Pike. He promised himself that he would try to be a better man for her. No wait, he wouldn't just try. He would be a better man. Teresa Lisbon deserved all the happiness in the world and she chose him. He wouldn't let her down now. He noticed she didn't comment on what he said about not leaving or running away. He figured she would still doubt him on that part as he did it twice, no thrice. Although the third time was for getting his way in the FBI for both of them.

They landed in Austin and informed Abbott about their return. Abbott told them to meet him at his office the first thing they arrived at work tomorrow. They took a cab to Pecan Grove, the place where Jane had parked his airstream. Lisbon knew this was a costly place to park.

"Jane, how were you able to find a place here? Last I knew you had parked the airstream at the FBI parking lot."

Jane just shrugged. "I had to convince the owner with an advance of three months rent. I explained them that they would have to keep this spot for me as I wasn't looking for any other place to live."

Lisbon was impressed. Not many people got to stay here without booking couple of months prior. But Jane had money and he certainly had the charm to persuade almost anyone. Plus the park was really good. Jane got a lot of place around his airstream, enough to host a small party.

Jane decided to freshen up and order something for both of them. He decided to take Lisbon to her hotel in the evening and have a good dinner there. Both of them could rest here till then.

Lisbon added water to the electric kettle and turned it on. She laughed softly by looking at Jane's tea collection- peppermint, chamomile, oolong, rooibos, chai and what not. Tea was something Jane couldn't complete his day without. He even had some milk in the mini fridge. She searched two cups and poured milk and then the hot water. She then dipped the bags exactly liked Jane did. He came from the small bathroom and took the cup from her with a grin.

He took a sip and hummed in approval. "You've mastered the tea-making skills Lisbon."

She rolled her eyes. "All these years I watched you making it. It's hardly rocket science."

"Ah, so you admit to watch me huh? Even while making tea?" He asked playfully.

She muttered, "Jackass." But she had a dimpled smile on her face.

They were back to bantering. He had missed this side of her. When he was writing all those letters he used to picture what her expressions would be. He had committed her every reaction from the years they worked together. Her eyes never left the compassion she had for him. Even while being with Pike she still had in her to protect him. He was grateful for her for so many things.

Fifteen minutes later the door knocked. Their food had arrived. Jane brought a large pepperoni pizza on the table with a grin.

"Closed case pizza!" He _had_ closed the case before leaving.

She laughed at him while looking for two dishes. "This is something we haven't done in a while."

"And I say we should continue this tradition as long as we can."

"Hear hear!" she clinked her tea cup against his while she continued laughing.

They finished their pizza with gusto and discussed about moving Lisbon's stuff back at her condo.

"Are you sure we both could do it? We can get some help you know."

"Ofcourse we can!"

"Are you sure you won't hurt your back while picking something heavy?" She asked with a playful smile.

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you implying that I'm old?"

"I'm just saying you're not as young as you used to be." The smile was still present on her face.

"Neither are you!"

"But I'm younger than you!"

He knew she was joking with him. Still he tried to appear offended. He put a hand on his chest. "You wound me, Lisbon."

"Aw, you poor baby."

"Atleast you could offer to kiss it better." He asked with a playful glint.

She rolled her eyes. "You'd like that, won't you?"

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't."

She rose from the chair and came besides him. He got up as well and held her in his arms. She kissed him softly. "All better?"

"Definitely."

He finally hugged her in the same way he had on their way to Malibu two years back. But this time he wasn't intent on letting her go. He closed his eyes and kept his head on her shoulder. Her arms were tiny but held him strongly against her. Lisbon realized they hadn't hugged like this after getting together and tightened her grip. Jane did the same. They stood like this for some time, Lisbon listening to his heartbeat and Jane relishing the scent of her shampoo. After all these years she still smelled like cinnamon, he smiled at the memory of feeling her face when he was temporarily blind. _Is that cinnamon in the mix of something?_

When they pulled back Jane kissed her forehead and asked, "Why don't we rest for a while? Later, we can go to that storage, get some of your stuff and check in that hotel."

She kissed his cheek in return. "Sounds good to me."

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 **I googled about the RV parks in Austin and thought this one would be something similar to what Jane would choose. Please review :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you so much for your reviews! Here's the next chapter. Merry Christmas everyone :)**

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Jane and Lisbon spent some time lying on the bed and talking about random stuff. Both of them didn't want to spend the time by sleeping now that they were in such close proximity. It was good to just lie besides each other and talk about sweet nothings. Also, there were still a lot of things they had to know about each other. Sure Jane knew a lot about her but that was just all because of good guesswork by observing her for so long. Lisbon on the other hand, didn't know much about Jane except for his family and carny life. She wondered how little she knew about the man she loved so much.

Lisbon didn't even know if the man grieved for his family after getting revenge. Jane told her in those letters about how he lived and how he missed her, but never mentioned his family. He would only be happy if he let go of his demons and stop himself from feeling guilty. And Lisbon would help him with that.

"Jane?"

"Yes, my dear?"

"You wrote to me about how you lived on that island. But how did you get there?"

Jane's face became neutral. He knew she didn't want to burst this happy bubble they were in, just wanted to know about it.

"I uh…"

Lisbon thought she said something wrong. "It's okay if you don't tell me now. I was just curious."

Jane took a deep breath. "No, I want to. It's just that every time I think about it, it occurs to me that I left you behind too. You always cleaned up my mess Lisbon. But after this I wasn't even there to make you feel better. You lost your job because of me. Not just you, but Cho, Rigsby and Van Pelt too. Here you were dealing with all the repercussions while I was just trying to escape, to get away from all this. But you should know I never tried to get away from you. I'm sure you won't believe me but it's the truth."

For once, Lisbon was surprised by the direct answer. She thought Jane would talk in circles just like always. Maybe things were really changing, it was a good change.

"We didn't lose the job because of you, Jane. That happened because of the Blake Association nightmare. The whole CBI was shut down. And you had to get away. You had the chance to be free and you took it. I understand."

Jane quickly replied, "No! I don't want you to just 'understand' and 'accept' things just like that anymore, Teresa. You can ask me about it. I want to tell you about all this." Jane thought about all the times she did things for him because she just 'understood'. He felt so bad about that.

Lisbon smiled slowly. "Okay. So tell me."

Jane took another deep breath and began, "After I called you and left you the message, I just started to run. For a moment I didn't feel like I was running from the police. I just felt like I'm running away from the demons that chased me for a decade and I'm leaving the guilt of my family's death behind with them. I finally killed the monster. You know I always told you that Red John is only a man and he will make mistakes. But I truly felt that when he was begging me not to kill him. For a man who was such an arrogant, narcissistic piece of shit he really was pathetic." He chuckled humorlessly. "Anyway I just ran. I looked at the graves of my family one last time, but I just kept running. I took my usual go-to bag which we kept for cases and paid the motel guy. I didn't have much suits so I told him to have them if he wanted. I had made a fake passport from the same guy who sold me the shotgun when I went to my Malibu house. I used it and took the first flight to Mexico. But I just wanted to disappear. I didn't care about taking any more stuff with me. I had some cash and I could raise money from any casino nearby so I didn't bother. I kept going places for a couple of days or sometimes a week… till I reached that island. It finally felt peaceful. It took me a couple of months but I got what I was looking for. I lived in a small room just like the motel in Sacramento. I had a bed, a kettle, and a good market for buying tea and food. What more could I ask for?"

"You kept your shoes too." She smiled and encouraged him to go on.

"Yes I did. Come on Lisbon, they're the only pair. And they're still great." He grinned. "Anyway, one day I was just sitting on the beach remembering my family. It was their anniversary. There wasn't any guilt for their death anymore. I felt like they finally got justice they deserved. But here I was, still stuck in an unknown place away from the world. At that time I wished that you would be there besides me. Our memories just weren't enough. Even if you wouldn't hold me, we could just talk. I know when we were in the CBI I always brooded in the attic or the motel room on that day, thinking about how I'm letting my family down by not catching him. But that day I wished for you to be besides me instead of them. I think I finally accepted that they won't be coming back even if I said that all these years."

Lisbon was stunned now. She had thought she wasn't that important to him anymore, but it was before he sent her the first letter. "What happened after that?"

Jane continued, "That thought gave me an uncontrollable urge to contact you. But I figured you will be looked out by FBI. I kept thinking how to talk to you. I just wanted to know how you were doing and if you missed me. Actually I wanted to show you how much I missed you, even if it would be hard for you to imagine. I contacted Pete and asked him if I could join his circuit just to find you. Unfortunately, Pete had broken his hand because of an accident during setting up the animal cage and I had to wait for couple of months. But I asked him to find something about you. If you were still in Sacramento, or if you were somewhere else, anything he could find. Pete assured me he would find where you were but it would take time. The next time I contacted him, he told me you were a sheriff in Washington but it was dangerous for me to join the circuit as he saw some wanted signs about me. Then I requested him to deliver a letter himself. Well, either him or Sam. Those are the two I still trust the most from the circuit. He gave me the address when he was going to be near you and I sent the letter to him. We decided that I would call him after a week of sending him the letter and Pete would tell me if you took it from him or not. Whenever they moved the carnival, he would inform about the change of address. But he also kept telling about how surprised you would be when he would see you. He kept mentioning, 'Pepper just gets wide-eyed after seeing me. Like she doesn't believe when I bring another. Maybe she thinks every time that this may be the last one.'"

Lisbon turned to face him and held him tightly in her arms. "Yes, that's true. I thought you would never contact me again. You got what you wanted from us and now you were in your own way and didn't need us anymore. Didn't need… me anymore." She tried not to cry.

"Oh, Lisbon… I always needed you. I still need you. But not for my convenience. I need you just… just…"

He couldn't form the words. He tried not to cry too. Although, Lisbon understood without him saying anything. She always understood.

"I know. I know Jane. When Pete brought the first letter I thought something happened to you. But then I thought what if you did something to yourself. What if you thought that there was no purpose in your life anymore? Something… someone to hold you back. But then I read the letter and I was relieved. It was good to know that you were at peace. I wished for that always. I told you I prayed to God to keep you safe. I finally felt like God listened to my prayers. I thanked Pete and asked him if he met you. But he would always just shrug and say that he just got calls from you and didn't know where you were."

Jane nodded. "I never told anyone Lisbon."

"Yeah I thought so. After reading that letter I went to church that evening and thanked God. I sat there for a lot of time just thinking about all the days. I said a prayer for your family as well and told them that I would look out for you whenever I get the chance."

Now Jane tried hard not to cry. God, this woman. For such a tiny person she carried a lot of love and compassion for the world.

"I don't know what to say, Teresa. Thank you, just thank you so much for still believing in me."

She shook her hand. "Don't thank me Jane. I always believed in you. I still do."

Jane sighed. He felt so much better after telling her this. He was about to thank her one more time when Lisbon suddenly spoke.

"Before leaving, I visited the cemetery."

Jane widened his eyes. "You did?"

"Mm-hm. It didn't feel wrong and after what happened I figured the least I could do is offer some flowers. I never knew if you visited them or not. So I sat there and talked to them about how you avenged their deaths, that you were really a good husband and a good father. I wasn't there for long. But talking to them felt good."

Now Jane couldn't help but cry. She heard soft sobs and took his face in her hands. She wiped the tears off his face and asked, "What's wrong?"

He hiccupped. "Nothing, no. You're so wonderful Teresa. I'm so lucky to have you. You don't know how amazing you are. I promise I would never do anything to mess up things between us. I just… I love you so much. Everything's perfect and…"

She didn't let him finish. She pulled him flush against her and started kissing him. He kissed back with equal parts love and excitement. She moaned when she felt his tongue caressing her lips. He took that chance to delve his tongue inside her and explore her even more. This kiss was nothing like their previous ones. It had passion, yet it was tender. They tilted their necks just to find that perfect angle. He rolled her to her back and kept exploding her senses. Then he pulled away from her lips and made his way to her jaw, her neck and then her collarbone. She put her hands around his shoulders at the nape of his neck, massaging his hairs lightly. He found a sensitive spot just below her ear and she shivered. He smiled against her skin and moved his tongue there, making her shiver one more time. He filed this sight and feeling in his memory palace and continued his teasing.

"Jane…" She tried to warn him but failed miserably.

He just chuckled against her neck. He continued his trail till her collarbone and then looked up at her with so much love she thought she would cry.

He gave her a genuine smile. "Yeah?"

She smiled back. "Yeah."

He kissed her on the lips again and then kissed her forehead. A tear slipped from her eye and Jane wiped it away with a worried expression.

She just shook her head. "You're right, this is perfect. Thank you for telling me. It must have been hard…"

He interrupted her, "You make it easy, my love."

She blushed and pulled him back. They kept kissing like this till the need for air pulled them apart. Both of them just kept looking at each other. Lisbon was overwhelmed due to Jane's openness. Jane was giddy because he got to kiss Lisbon like he wanted to all these years. Lisbon wanted the same, but she knew he knew this all along. She always thought Jane was a good kisser but this was something else. His lips were so soft and she knew she was already addicted to them. When things got further, she could only imagine how amazing it would be. He was Jane, after all.

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 **I tried to write my own version about Jane's escape. I hope it was good. Please review.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Happy New Year everyone :) I apologize for the delay in updating this story. But to be honest I wrote this chapter three times and wasn't happy with the result. I still don't know if this is good or not. I would love to know from you guys. I also posted a one-shot 'Birthday Surprise' so please check that out as well.**

 **Thank you for the reviews and a special thank you for everyone who has favorite-ed and followed. Bigggg hugs to you all.**

 **Also I let our duo have some fun in this chapter. Why should things always be serious? ;)**

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As the evening approached Jane and Lisbon went to Lisbon's bungalow and took a bag of her clothes. Upon Jane's insistence Lisbon took some evening dresses as well. After retrieving her car from the garage Jane gave her the directions for the hotel. Lisbon was close to getting annoyed on his secrecy. _When will he do something in a normal way?_

"Just tell me the name of the hotel, Jane. It will be much easier."

He just chuckled, "Ah, but this is more fun my dear."

Lisbon just huffed in response. She had been driving for just ten minutes when he announced, "Take the next right and after a mile we'll be there."

She tried to guess the neighborhood they were passing by. Jane just looked at her in amusement. But inside he was nervous about what he had planned. He hoped Lisbon would like it. The food was great around the hotel and there was no doubt about the location. And she would be more comfortable here instead of the airstream. Even though Jane had no problem if Lisbon invaded his personal space, he wanted her to feel good. Despite knowing each other for more than a decade, they both sucked at overcoming certain barriers. They had begun to open up to each other but it was just the tip of the iceberg. _Baby steps_ , he thought.

When she read the logo 'Wrentwood Inn & Suites' her eyes were wide as saucers. This was definitely expensive and by the look Jane was giving her, he knew she was not happy with his choice. Not that it wasn't good, it was great actually. But she didn't like that Jane was spending so much on her. She was never the one for the fancy stuff.

"I can't even begin to think why you booked here." She shook her head while still gripping the wheel.

Jane wasn't fazed. "Then don't."

"But Jane, this is too much. First the Blue Bird and now this. Can't we go someplace else?"

"Nonsense, woman. I want you to be as much comfortable as you can. And you liking simple things is the main reason you deserve a special treatment. And don't worry about the money. This is nothing. As long as you like it, it's all good." Jane smiled.

"How're you sure I'll like it, Jane? For all you know I would hate it." She actually wouldn't hate it, the hotel was known for its good services and the outside pool. But she still didn't like someone spending so much for her.

Jane laughed. "I'm sorry. Have we just met?"

Lisbon let out a small growl. Sometimes he was too arrogant. "Fine! If I like it I'll pay you half."

Now Jane's smile faded. "You'll do no such thing. Consider this as one of my apology gift for wrecking the normal in your life."

She snorted. "Nothing has been normal since I met you, Jane. And before you ask, I don't regret it. I just wish I could actually kick your ass for the trouble you caused when we were in the CBI."

Jane chuckled, "From now, you have full permission to kick my ass for anything I do wrong, Lisbon. Although I doubt you actually would, but you can." He gave a cheeky smile.

Realizing that they were getting off-topic, Lisbon stated, "Let's go."

She parked the car and they went in the lobby with their bags. The desk manager greeted them with a practiced smile, "Good evening Sir, Ma'am. Welcome to Wrentwood Inn and Suites. What can I do for you?"

Jane put on his charming smile and spoke to her, "Good evening, Betty." He glanced on her name tag. "I booked a room for two days earlier this morning. Patrick Jane."

"Just a second, Mr. Jane." Betty replied and checked her computer for the booking. Lisbon looked around the lobby and nodded approvingly with a small smile. _So far so good_ , Jane thought. Betty handed them the key and placed that practiced smile on her face again. "Thank you for choosing this hotel. Your king suite is ready as per your request. You can dial 3 from your room if you want some breakfast. We hope you have a pleasant stay, Mr. and Mrs. Jane."

Lisbon blushed at that title but didn't correct the woman. They were on their way to the elevator when she glanced at him, "King suite huh?"

Jane chuckled, "Yeah. I asked for the best room for us." He asked a moment later. "Speaking of us, you liked it when Betty called you Mrs. Jane didn't you?"

Lisbon replied without missing a beat, "Yeah it sounded just right." She smiled lovingly at him, dimples and everything. He couldn't wait anymore to get in the room and kiss her senseless. When they reached Jane tipped the busboy and closed the door behind him.

Lisbon looked around the room. The living room was almost as big as her own. There was a brown couch with big cushions as well as a chair with an ottoman. A study table with a revolving chair was arranged besides the flat screen television. The walls had abstract paintings and the mini fridge was stocked. The air conditioner was installed below the window instead of above which Lisbon thought was a great idea. The lamps in the room could be adjusted to the brightness as per the time of the day. There was a small table besides the mini fridge with a mirror attached to the wall. There was also a mirror besides the television. It gave the effect of a big room.

The bedroom was similar to the living room except for the lack of a couch and chair. A king sized bed was placed with almost half a dozen pillows and clean sheets. Lisbon childishly sat on the bed and checked and laughed when she bounced. The bedroom also had a television. A large mirror was just opposite the bed and nightstands on either side. The window gave a view of the swimming pool and Lisbon decided at that moment that she would go for a swim in the morning. A separate air conditioner was placed below the window just like in the living room. The bathroom was just as impressive. A large tub with jacuzzi feature along with a big shower was separated from the rest of the bathroom by a big curtain. She came back to the living room and sat besides Jane who was flipping channels on the television.

"Certainly beats the airstream." He said glancing at her.

Lisbon shook her head. "This is too much Jane. We would have been fine in the airstream or a less expensive hotel."

He took her in his arms and kissed the top of her head. "You my dear, deserve the best. And this is perfect."

She smiled in his embrace. "I'm still paying half."

He chuckled, "No you're not, _Mrs. Jane_. This is my gift to you. A pre-housewarming one, if I must be specific."

She blushed again at that and held him tighter. After a moment she looked up to him and kissed him softly on his cheek. "Thank you."

He kissed her on her forehead and smiled. "It's the least I could do."

She started to get up to get ready for dinner when he swiftly pulled her back in his arms and kissed her. Lisbon squeaked at the sudden movement but kissed him back with equal fervor. He moved back and rested his head on the armrest and lied down, taking her above him. She kissed the tip of his nose and smiled down at him.

He smiled back. "I can recall the number of days where I imagined this while resting on my couch in CBI."

Her cheeks colored. "Me too." After a moment she said, "But on the white couch."

He chuckled and kissed her cheek, "That would have given us more privacy."

She kissed the tip of his nose. "Certainly."

They kept stealing kisses from one another for a while. Jane had his hands on her pert backside and Lisbon was moving her hands in his curls when suddenly Jane's stomach rumbled. They both laughed and got up.

"Well someone's hungry." Lisbon spoke with a soft laugh.

Jane's eyes had darkened. "Yes."

Her breath hitched but she didn't avert her gaze. She took a moment to admire Jane. His hairs were gloriously tousled with swollen lips and darkened eyes. He had to be the sexiest person ever and she took pride to admit that he was hers.

"All in good time Jane." She managed to say after a moment.

Both of them knew their first time won't be in a hotel room. Jane's injured ankle won't come in the way but there were a lot of things they had to talk before going for it. For one, he hadn't been with any woman after his wife. He had stated otherwise to the judge about the Lorelei fiasco but Lisbon refused to believe it until he told her himself. So many years had passed and more important things had happened. This won't be easy for him, emotionally. They had time, and whenever that would happen it would be worth the decade.

Jane had decided the restaurant for dinner and she hoped it wasn't something extravagant. She really wanted an unhealthy meal with lots of grease and meat. Even if she was tiny she had the appetite of eating a burger as well as a slice of pizza. Marcus loved 'wine and dine' while she preferred food trucks and big burgers. And she hadn't had a meal like that in days. She smiled at him when he got ready for dinner. His usual beachwear shirt and pants with a suit jacket. She hoped he would start wearing the three piece suits soon.

Lisbon went in to get ready and Jane looked in the mirror, smiling to himself. He knew she would like dinner. The woman was concentrating in keeping Pike happy that she didn't notice she was getting thin. She was tiny already. If this went on she would turn into a miniature version of herself in no time. While booking the hotel, Jane had asked if there were any local dives nearby. He was glad when he found there was one and decided right away to take Lisbon there for dinner. She would love it, he was sure.

They got out and Lisbon drove while Jane told her the directions. She decided it would be futile to ask him and hoped the casual jeans and top were fine for the place they were going. Her face split into an enormous grin when he told her to stop in front of a dive bar. They got out of the car and stood in front of the entrance of Chili's. Jane had a smug smile when she turned to him and immediately engulfed him in a hug.

"This is… how did you… never mind… Thank you!"

He laughed and took her hand. The bar was almost full but they managed to find a table. The dim lights and the loud music along with a big screen was what Lisbon needed for a change. Even though Jane could sit opposite her he sat beside her all snug. Lisbon didn't mind one bit.

The waiter came and Jane ordered a grilled chicken burrito for himself and a classic bacon burger with fries for Lisbon and two beers. Lisbon looked at him approvingly and asked him, "How did you find this place?"

He shrugged, "I asked the manager while booking the hotel for us."

She kissed his cheek. "I love it."

Jane smiled at the gesture. "I knew you would but thank you nonetheless. You need to eat woman. You've certainly become thin."

Lisbon swatted his arm and replied, "Like you're all fit. You need to eat too."

Jane was glad she had noticed. The waiter brought their beers and Jane raised his bottle with a salute. "To us."

She rolled her eyes but agreed. She clinked her bottle with his. "To us."

Their food arrived minutes later. Both of them dug hastily and made approving noises after their first bite.

"Oh my God…"

"Yeah. Wow!"

They fed each other small bites. Jane insisted Lisbon to feed her the burger as whole instead of a small bite. He wanted to check if he could successfully take a bit of the whole thing in once. When he tried there was sauce on his nose and lips with a small portion of lettuce beside his lips. Lisbon laughed at the image and kissed him, slowly licking the sauce from his lips and taking the lettuce piece in her teeth. She purposely wiped the sauce from his nose instead of kissing there too. When she pulled back she was proud of having Jane totally dazed. Lisbon was never the one for public displays of affection but with Jane, all limits were off.

Jane was genuinely surprised by Lisbon's actions. Her beer wasn't even finished and she wasn't a light weight. She could carry herself just fine even after being drunk but here she was, slowly torturing him.

"Woman… I'm warning you." He said with a rough voice.

But she didn't faze at all. "Yeah? We'll see about that."

He took the chance and kissed her roughly. Food forgotten, she kissed him back with their hands entwined. Lisbon let out a moan of pleasure and Jane took the chance of putting his tongue in her mouth. She gasped and held his hands even tighter. When they pulled back a moment later there was a smug smile on Jane's lips.

"See?" Jane asked, proud.

She blinked in surprise. After a moment, "Yeah."

What had gotten into them? Thankfully the place was crowded so no one turned their heads at them otherwise there definitely would have been whistles for what they did. She had never thought she would make out with Jane in a bar without being drunk but here they were. Jane felt like his dreams were finally getting real. He could kiss Lisbon anytime anywhere he wanted. And the best part was, she would kiss him back.

After their food was finished they decided to sit at the open bar and have a few drinks. Jane restricted himself to just one shot of tequila as he was planning to drive them back to the hotel but told Lisbon to drink as much as she wanted. After six shots Lisbon was positively drunk. She looked at Jane with glassy eyes and motioned him to come closer. Jane chuckled but did the same. She whispered despite the noise around them.

"Before you sent me your first letter, I would drink sometimes and fall asleep just like that."

His smile faded. The last thing he wanted was to turn this into something sad. He shouldn't have let her drink so much. She wouldn't have listened to him, but still.

After taking a breath she spoke again, "When I got the first letter I sat on my couch with a wine glass and read it. When I got the second one, I read that and then both of them. Whenever I got a new letter I used to pour myself a glass, read the newest and start reading from the very beginning. I used to do it sometimes after having a bad day as well."

He was stunned. But no, he wouldn't cry. Not in a bar at least. Instead he moved his chair closer and took her in his arms. "I'm so sorry Teresa. I'm not leaving you again. Never. You're stuck with me."

She looked up to him and kissed him languidly. Jane took that as a cue to leave. He wanted to prove everything he just told her. He paid the bill and they left the bar. She was leaning on him heavily but she weighed like a feather so Jane didn't mind. He drove them back to the hotel and made her sit on the bed. Fetching a glass of water, he went back to the bedroom and Lisbon looked at him with a seductive smile. He figured what she wanted but this was not the way he wanted their first time to be. Jane made her drink the water and made her lie down the bed. He removed his jacket and both their shoes and socks and lied down besides her.

She took a deep breath and whispered, "I missed you so much Jane. Even after we started working together I still missed you every day."

The alcohol had made her more open towards him. He held her cheeks and kissed her tenderly. "I missed you too Teresa. I'm never letting you go."

She nodded. "Good. Because I don't want to go." And she kissed him.

Jane rolled over her and kept kissing her with his hands roaming at her sides. Lisbon had a hand in his curls and another on his waist as she matched his excitement. His hands went inside her shirt and hovered on her stomach, slowly moving the top up and she started to open his shirt buttons from the bottom. Jane hissed at the contact of her fingers on his stomach and moved his hand on her stomach, his other hand in her hair while he moved his lips from hers to her jaw and her neck. He kept assaulting her neck when he noticed the smooth rhythm of her breath. She had passed out. Jane would have been insulted but he knew this was because of the tequila. He chuckled softly and rolled off her, gently turning her and pulling her back towards him. He kissed her one last time and whispered, "Sweet dreams, my love." He had gotten addicted to her kisses and wondered how it would be when they finally did it, unknown to the fact that Lisbon had wondered about the same thing in the afternoon. With a smile on his face, he dozed off.

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 **How was it? Please review. They motivate me to write more.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I can't believe this fic has over fifty reviews! Thank you thank you thank you so much to all the reviewers. Also a big thank you to the guest reviewers as well. Biggg hugs to all those who alerted and favorite-ed the story. I really appreciate it/**

 **Also I want to mention that I'm keeping a steady flow for the story because I'm trying my best to keep it like the show. According to the plot they grew were very close emotionally(and physically) but still hadn't opened up about some things. I'm trying to write this fic by keeping that point in mind.**

 **Here's the new chapter :)**

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The next morning Lisbon woke up with a hangover. She groaned and reached for the other side of the bed only to find it empty. The sun's rays hit squarely in her eyes and with a hiss she covered her eyes with the comforter. She was about to yell Jane's name but he came in that moment with a glass of water and two aspirins, his limp almost gone. He hopped on the bed and pressed a kiss on her forehead.

"Morning, sleepyhead."

She grunted in response but leaned closer to him anyway. "Why did you let me drink so much?"

Jane chuckled. "Drunk Lisbon is always preferable than a punch in the nose. Take the tabs you'll feel better, my dear."

Lisbon shook her head. "I need coffee."

He held her in place. "Breakfast is on its way. Take the tabs for now. You'd need them to face Abbott. Remember?"

She had completely forgotten about the meeting. Two days with Jane and she didn't care what happened in the outside world. Until now. Would he give her the job straightaway? Would he tell her to go to DC in case he couldn't get the paperwork? Would she have to face Marcus? Lisbon began to feel a headache forming when Jane squeezed her a little bit and whispered in her ear. "Sssh Teresa. It's okay. Your job is safe. You just need to clear things off and let him know that you've kept me on your leash for the rest of your life."

Chuckling, she replied. "Well I must say I thought of having you in a leash a lot of times during CBI. But I knew you'd get out of it in no time. You'd easily get out of handcuffs."

"I won't now. I'm thy slave now, madame. Thou cannot get rid of me easily."

She laughed heartily. "You're impossible."

"And yet you love me, my dear." He chuckled.

"That, I do."

He knew she hadn't said the actual words yet but Jane didn't care. He had seen her all these years and he knew the depth of her feelings towards him. He won't push her to say it. In more ways, she showed him how much she loved him. Why should he hang on to the words then?

Just then there was a knock at the door and Jane got up to bring the breakfast. Lisbon sighed and got up to sit against the headboard. The smell of coffee was enough for her to be fully awake. Jane brought the tray of breakfast and placed the little table on the bed, plopping besides her. He had ordered pancakes drenched in syrup, toast, two cups of fruit, eggs, coffee and tea. Lisbon's eyes widened at the tray in front of her.

"Are you sure you're not trying to fatten me up?" She tried to sound serious but the small smile on her lips betrayed it.

Jane rolled his eyes. "Please. You're so far from fat. I couldn't coax you into breakfast before so now I'm going to make sure you eat regularly and healthily. I can recall the number of days you have lived on only a bearclaw and that dreaded stuff you drink."

Lisbon took a bit of the toast and replied, "Oh hush! I can take care of myself just fine."

Jane smirked. "Yeah I can see that. When was the last time you actually had a proper breakfast?"

She smiled, "Yesterday if you recall."

Jane shook his head, "Okay let me rephrase. When was the last time you had a real breakfast _before_ we went to Miami?"

Well he had her there. She had been caught up in the prospect of moving to DC and packing her stuff along with her work that she had survived on doughnuts and bearclaws. She looked at him sheepishly but tried, "Three days ago."

"You, my dear are a lousy liar." After a moment he pointed the fork towards her. "Liar liar pants on fire!"

She muttered, "Jackass." And he started laughing. Lisbon rolled her eyes but joined him and laughed at their banter. This was the normal she wanted in her life. Not the _nice_ normal. Being with Jane was an interesting kind of normal and she was glad she had that now. They had their breakfast and a short time later they left for the FBI office.

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"Don't be nervous." Jane said to her in the elevator.

Lisbon tried to be calm, but she couldn't stop the incessant tapping of her foot. She glanced towards him and shrugged, "Easy for you to say. You won't need to go to DC if there's a problem in the paperwork. He shouldn't think my personal stuff is affecting my job."

Jane kept a hand on the small of her back. "You're thinking too much. Abbott had mentioned he would ask for the required paperwork. There will be no need to go to DC. But if there are any problems, I will be there with you. We'll go together. Now tell me what you're really worried about."

She took a deep breath and asked him what she'd been dreading so far. "Do you think Abbott knows about us?"

Jane replied without missing a beat, "I don't know." Actually Abbott pretty much the idea of them being together as Lisbon didn't go to DC, but he refrained from telling her. The woman was already nervous as hell.

It wasn't like Lisbon was ashamed of their relationship with Jane. Back in the CBI, everyone including the AG had taken part in the office pool about her and Jane sleeping together. She still held her head high and ignored the rumors. She never went for any other man back then even if she knew she would get hurt by loving Jane. But now everyone in the bullpen knew that she was going to start a life with Marcus. It was her official last day in Austin office when the Miami case came up. Although Lisbon wasn't the one to budge because of people's reactions, she didn't want her team to think ill of her. Jane was truly a wonderful man but except from Cho, no one knew that. She imagined the small smile on the Iceman's lips when she'd tell him she isn't going to DC after all.

When they entered the bullpen no one from their team was present. Lisbon headed straight to Abbott's office and Jane went to the break room to make himself a cup of tea. Abbott was going through some paperwork when Lisbon knocked on his door and entered.

"Boss?"

Abbott gave her a small smile. "Agent Lisbon, please have a seat."

She sat opposite to him and Abbott passed her some papers. "I just got these faxed from DC. Don sent me the paperwork. All we have to do is just sign this and you're officially back here."

Lisbon let out a breath and smiled. "Thank you, sir."

Abbott asked, "Will your decision change again? I'll be honest with you. You're among the finest agents worked under me and I should be thankful to Jane for that. And I must add, your credibility doesn't depend on Jane because your work is remarkable as it is. So I would like to know if you'll rethink or reconsider."

Lisbon's eyes widened. She and Jane hadn't started working in FBI on a particular happy note. But this was unexpected. She felt pride in being recognized without Jane. She stammered. "Thank you, sir. I won't… I won't be changing my decision."

Jane came in the cabin at that moment and stated, "Ofcourse she won't change her mind Dennis."

Abbott smirked at him and Lisbon turned around and rolled her eyes at her FBI consultant slash partner slash boyfriend. "Well then, welcome back Agent Lisbon. You can check the paperwork of the latest case. It would be on Cho's desk I presume."

She smiled once again at her boss. "Thank you, sir. Speaking of Cho, where is the team? I didn't see anybody on my way here."

Abbott replied, "Cho and Fischer have gone to the victim's house. Wylie is in the IT department working on some glitches in his laptop."

Jane took the chance to cut in. "Lisbon, aren't you going to ask Dennis for some time off? With the unpacking and everything? You were even telling me about visiting your brother weren't you?"

Lisbon glared at him. _What visiting my brother?_ He had that mischievous smile on his face. "I think I can manage Jane. I can handle it after work hours."

Abbott narrowed his eyes at the pair. "You're sure Agent? You can have some time off if you need."

 _Why is Abbott being so generous?_ She thought. Jane exclaimed, "Wonderful!"

She tried to interrupt, "There's really no need, sir. I can handle-"

Jane butted in. "But you don't have to, Lisbon. You are getting some time off then make the full use of it."

Abbott raised his hand. "Wait, Jane. Agent Lisbon, you have vacation days remaining. You can use them if you like. Now, how many days you think you would need?"

Lisbon stuttered, "A week or two, sir. Not more than that I assure you."

Jane cut in, "Wait a minute now. How can you unpack and visit your brother in just two weeks? Don't you think your niece would be mad at you if you just stay in Chicago only for a couple of days?"

Now he got the famous death-glare from Lisbon but he didn't seem to faze. She tried, "Sir I-"

Abbott raised his voice a little. "Enough you two! Agent Lisbon, you can have three weeks of leave effective immediately. Go visit your family, go take care of your house. If you need any of us for any help, don't hesitate to call."

Jane took a sip of his now tepid tea. He suggested, "Or I could help her. It's not fair for our dear agent to handle everything alone."

Lisbon was close to irritated and Abbott smirked at him, "So you will visit Chicago with her as well?"

Jane smirked back. "Well if Agent Lisbon insists then why not?"

She turned to him and bit out. "That won't be necessary Jane."

Abbott sighed. He knew exactly what Jane's intentions were. But Lisbon didn't want to declare anything officially. Well of anyone could tame the consultant it was her. He shook his head and declared. "Jane, you can have some time off as well. But Cho will call you if they hit a dead-end on any case."

Jane put his cup and saucer on the table and clapped his hands twice for dramatic effect. "Excellent!" he took them back and left Abbott's office with a nod at the man's direction. When he went past the door he glanced at the glass window and mouthed 'thank you' to the boss. Abbott smiled at him and looked at Lisbon. "Very well. You can leave for the day."

Lisbon could only say "Thank you, sir. Have a good day." As she left the office she wanted to strangle Jane. How could he decide anything for the both of them? The man was already calling the elevator when she reached up to him. "What the hell was that about? What brother? What niece?"

He tried to hold her hands but she pulled away. "Calm down, woman. I was just getting some time for both of us. Don't tell me you really don't need any help with moving in."

They entered the elevator and Lisbon waited for the doors to close. "That's not the point Jane. You just can't decide things for both of us. We're equal here. Why didn't you talk about this? We had the whole morning to ourselves!"

"Don't get mad Lisbon. I just… I just-"

"You just what? Huh? Tell me?"

They went to the parking lot. When she went to open the door Jane held her hand and turned her to him. Softly, "I finally have you all by myself, Teresa. I've waited so long. _We've_ waited so long. I don't want to share you with the world for now. No FBI, no team, no one else. Just you, and me, for a while."

She looked up at him. His gaze was piercing and she knew he was being honest. For Jane, admitting his true feelings was always difficult and still he didn't give any stupid excuse but opened up to her. All the irritation she was feeling for him melted away instantly. She sighed and smiled. "Fine."

He smiled back and pressed a chaste kiss on her lips. "Come on, let's grab lunch and go to a nearby park."

She gave him a dimpled smile and nodded, "Sounds good."

Jane grinned and held the door for her which she had already opened. She rolled her eyes and got in. he went to the other side and got in the car with a contented smile on his face.

* * *

They reached the park an hour later with take away sandwiches and milkshakes. The park wasn't that crowded for a sunny day. Working people just like them were sitting on benches with their meal and some elderly couples were taking a walk, some even played chess. Jane and Lisbon found a bench near the pond and sat on it. After finishing their lunch, he held her right hand in his left and his ring shone in the afternoon sun.

"Jane?"

"Mm?" He turned towards her.

"I know I have never asked you this. But why didn't you take your ring off after you… got your revenge?" She made sure to not say 'kill Red John'.

He took a deep breath and Lisbon thought she made a terrible mistake. She hastily tried, "Look if it's hard then don't tell me okay? I understand."

He squeezed her hand and replied, "No it's all right Lisbon. I just never thought I'll open up to someone this much you know?"

She nodded. "I know."

He took another breath and looked at their entwined hands. He began, "When I left… I uh… I didn't have anything with me as I told you before. This ring was the only thing that tied me up to Sacramento… that tied me to you. You very well know that if it wouldn't have been for the ring I wouldn't have met you at all. I always associated my family with it but after leaving here, you were a part of it too. Earlier it reminded me of my moments with them, but it reminded me of our moments too. Not that I have forgotten any, but still."

She held back tears and gave a small smile, "Go on."

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her ring finger softly. "I'm not ready to let them go just yet Teresa. But when the day comes, and I'll make sure it comes, I'll wear the ring of your name. I promise you that."

She blushed and sniffed, "I would never ask you to remove it unless the time comes. But if you pull some crap and run away again, I might have to reconsider."

He looked at her lovingly and nodded. "Deal."

She kissed him softly on the cheek and asked, "You know that I would never tell you get over them right? I know you'll always love your daughter and… Angela too. You know I won't do any such thing right?"

He took her close and kissed her forehead, "I know. You're amazing Teresa."

She kissed his jaw in return. "You're amazing too. I know not many would agree on it but I know."

Jane chuckled and pulled back. After a moment, "Boy this opening up stuff is real tiring. I think I'll take a nap." With one swift motion he turned his back to her, pulled his legs on the bench and lay down with his head on her lap.

"Jane!" she laughed but held his hand on his chest and massaged his scalp with the other. They kept looking at each other and stayed like this for a while. Lisbon was happy with the steady progress they were making. Jane on the other hand was thinking ways to make the evening special for both of them.

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 **How was it? Please review...**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Thank you so much for your reviews... both guest and registered. It means a lot. And sincere apologies for the delay. I got so excited by the two-shot I wrote that I completely forgot to type this one up. Silly me! Anyway this chapter is a bit on the M side, not too much but a bit. Hope you guys enjoy!**

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After getting back to the hotel Jane was waiting for a chance to get a hold of Lisbon's phone. When she got in the bathroom to freshen up, he took the opportunity to grab her phone and memorized the storage facility's address and the contact of packers and movers. He also took her house key and the car key and put it in his jacket which was beside hers. It was low of him to snoop and steal but it was necessary for his plan. He was planning a surprise for her and this was just the basis.

When she came back from the bathroom she asked, "So, what do you wanna do now?"

"Oh I have a few ideas in mind." He waggled his eyebrows playfully.

Lisbon giggled. "Jane!"

He feigned innocence. "What? I was thinking about watching a movie."

"Uh-huh."

"Well Agent Lisbon, I can't help it if you have a dirty mind."

She began to protest, "I do not!" But a moment later her expressions changed. She had dreams of her and Jane sometimes. Okay, most of the time. _Very_ dirty dreams.

He saw the change in her expressions and smiled triumphantly. "No. You do not. Not at all."

She hurried to the bedroom. He thought she got upset but a moment later she came back with a pillow and threw it on his face. He wasn't quick enough to duck so it hit him straight. Oh, she just wanted to throw something at him. He was thankful she didn't pick up the telephone, or the hairdryer.

He balanced himself after the hit and saw that she was smirking. He held the pillow in a throwing position and walked towards her with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Her smirk faltered and she began to retreat in the bedroom. "Oh no. No. No Jane!" She ran back to the bedroom with a squeal.

Jane shook his head. "Payback's only fair, my love."

He threw the pillow at her but she was already on the bed and dodged it with another pillow. He climbed the bed and took the pillow back in his hand and started throwing at her. For almost fifteen minutes they continued their pillow fight with a lot of laughter and heavy breaths. It was all fun until Lisbon grabbed his arms and pushed him on the bed, face down, just like she would tackle a suspect.

Jane's muffled voice came from the sheets. "You think this would stop me. But this is exciting me more Lisbon."

Again, she burst out laughing and let him turn on the bed so that she would be straddling him. He looked so happy, so carefree, the lines on his face after years of worry were almost gone, only those cute laugh lines stayed. God, it should be a crime to be this gorgeous. Pillow fight forgotten, she leaned down and kissed him softly.

Jane sighed into the kiss and she reached her hands in his hair. He held her by her arms and deepened the kiss. With one quick motion, he rolled them off so he lay on top of her. Lisbon squeaked but kept kissing him, her tongue slowly licking his lower lip. He moaned and she plunged her tongue inside his mouth, when an involuntarily moan crossed her own mouth. When the need for air pulled them apart, Jane whispered. "You don't have a dirty mind at all, huh?"

Lisbon blushed. "Hush!" She pulled him down again to kiss him.

Her hands stayed at the nape of his neck while his began to explore her curves. They kept kissing, and smiling, and kissing all the way again. Jane made his way to her cheek, her jaw and then her neck. She sighed approvingly and rubbed her hands on his back. Lisbon gasped when Jane kissed a sensitive spot just below her ear and he chuckled throatily but continued kissing anyway. She tried to kiss him on his neck but he kept her pinned to the bed, making this all about her. After a minute or so, Lisbon grew impatient and started unbuttoning his shirt. Jane shivered at the tantalizing touch of her fingers and looked back at her, a dazed expression on his face. She pulled her head up and kissed him again and Jane was once again lost in her kisses.

Once the shirt was undone and out of the way, Lisbon moved her hands everywhere on his upper body, his chests, his shoulder blades, his perfect back, his narrow waist. Oh it was exactly like she had dreamed! How? How can he have such a great body when he just naps all day? It should be a crime for someone to look so good at every occasion. Honestly he could hold only a paper box around him and still look sexy. Lisbon realized her thoughts were going in a ridiculous direction and she went back to kissing him senseless. She could smell his cologne near his neck. God, he was amazing.

Jane on the other hand was trying desperately to control himself. It was so long he had done this he was sure he would come straight away if Lisbon continued her delicious assault on his body. He tried every biofeedback trick and concentrated on the wonderful woman who was currently kissing his collarbone.

"Teresa." He whispered, the s turning into soft z's and she held him tighter.

He returned his face close to hers and she smiled seductively at him, her eyes a deeper shade of green. It was as if another wall had broken down between them. He felt no guilt when he looked down at her with equal intensity, realizing a change in their relationship. _Finally_ , she thought. But he looked so serious.

"Is everything okay?" She whispered. Her eyes contained more concern than the previous lust.

He breathed out. "Yes. Yes Teresa." He decided to be honest with her. "Do you mind if we slow down a bit? I'm a little out of practice here." He smiled sheepishly.

Realization dawned upon her. She was pouncing on him like a horny teenager. This should be difficult for him, atleast he wasn't feeling guilty. She could tell by looking in his eyes. _He must be thinking if he could make me happy or not? God, I shouldn't have pounced on him._ Her thoughts started racing and Jane seemed to sense that by looking at her expressions. He kissed her forehead, "Hey, it's okay. I don't know if I would uh… last as long as you want me to. I'm just saying we go slow so that I can uh… match you."

Lisbon blushed and nodded. "Sorry I didn't think about it. We can go as slow as you as you want."

Jane turned to her side and grumbled, "You make it sound like I'm a tortoise."

She giggled. "No! I'm just saying I'm ready to wait longer."

He whined, "But I don't want to. I'm just afraid I won't be as good as you expect me to."

Lisbon rolled her eyes. "I don't care about that. We reaching at this point is an achievement for me. I want to go further, but only when you're ready."

Suddenly Jane started laughing, "Didn't expect this kind of sexy talk, I admit."

She joined in his laughter. "Well you said you like to do things differently. I guess that includes sexy talk. Oh, and pillow talk too I guess."

He just chuckled. Lisbon got an idea and held out his hand and motioned for him to get up and sit in front of her. She raised an eyebrow suggestively and asked, "Let's make this easy for you, shall we?"

"Oh?" He couldn't even say anything more. This woman was trying to make things easy for _him_. Her compassion really knew no bounds. This would be equally difficult for her, as she had also waited for more than a decade. He sat up with only in his pants and Lisbon resisted herself from letting out a low whistle.

"Now just sit back and relax. And you can touch me anywhere, whenever you like."

He shifted against the headboard and let her straddle him again. "Well I would be an idiot to refuse that."

She giggled and began kissing him slowly, her hands on his shoulders. Jane once again used his biofeedback tricks to control and pulled her even closer. After a few minutes he whispered, "You're still fully dressed love."

She bit his lower lip gently and suggested, "Why don't you work on that then?"

Jane made a 'hmmpf' sound and reached for her shirt buttons shakily. He was so nervous he couldn't even hold a button steadily. Lisbon sensed his nervousness and held his hands to stop him from shaking, all the while kissing him softly and murmuring "It's okay, it's okay" between the kisses. Once he got reasonably calm, she moved her hands to his waist and gently squeezed him, and gasped when she felt his erection on her lower belly. Jane removed a button of her shirt and he felt a small sense of accomplishment. He continued to undo her shirt while kissing her and she felt his nimble fingers touching ever so lightly on her skin. Once the shirt was out of the way he was positively ogling her in her simple black bra and she controlled an eye roll at his open mouth. He moved his hands from her shoulders to her waist, looking at her as if he was burning this moment in his memory palace. And if her guess was correct, he probably was.

"You're beautiful, Teresa." He whispered. "Just as I imagined you would be."

She pulled him close and both gasped at the first ever skin contact between them. Jane made his way down from her neck to between her breasts and Lisbon moaned in pleasure. He held her left breast in his hand and gently squeezed it while taking the other in his mouth, moving his tongue gently on the fabric. She gasped again, "Oh Patrick!"

The use of his first name was enough for him to get even more aroused and he hurriedly unclasped the bra and threw it out of the way. He squeezed both her breasts and lightly grazed his thumbs over their tips while she bit her lower lip to keep herself from screaming, her hands roaming from his shoulders to his back. He took one taut nipple in his mouth and laved the tip with his tongue, then gently sucked on it while massaging the other. He gave the same treatment to the other one and Lisbon couldn't wait any longer. She put her hands on the bulge in his pants and he let out a hiss. She started moving her hands on the fabric and kept kissing him on the neck. Seconds later, he let out a strangled cry and she felt the wetness on his pants. He really tried to control but apparently that wasn't enough. Lisbon kissed him tenderly and kept on whispering, "It's okay, no harm done. It's fine."

He managed to talk, "I'm sorry. I couldn't…."

She silenced him with a hand on his lips, "Sssh, it's okay. I'm here. I know this was difficult. It's completely okay. We have all the time we need." She held him close.

He squeezed her once and said, "Let me go and change."

She nodded and got off of him.

He went inside the bathroom and Lisbon plopped down on the bed with a sigh. Why? Why did she have to rush things again? Things were going just fine, great actually. He must be feeling conscious now because of her. Lisbon hoped he would open up to her instead of getting embarrassed and shutting himself out. They worked together for almost a decade. Surely they would work this out too. She let herself wonder for a moment. Did this happen with him when he supposedly slept with Lorelei? But she shook her head and refused to think in that direction. He was hers now. What happened with Lorelei, if at all anything happened, didn't matter. She would tell him he didn't need to get embarrassed about this.

Jane on the other hand was cursing himself. Damn his biofeedback. At the back of his mind he knew he wouldn't have been able to act like a skilled lover because he was not, but still this was way too early. He didn't expect his first time after living as a monk for nearly a decade- Lorelei didn't count- would be like this. Lisbon was patient with him for so many things over the years, ofcourse she would be patient with him for this as well. Looking at the bright side, she would know the kind of power she had over him and he didn't mind it one bit. After cleaning himself and changing, he went back to the bedroom where Lisbon was lying down on the bed on her stomach, still topless. When she saw him she smiled and gestured him to lie down beside her.

She asked, "You okay?"

He pulled her closer. "Well, frankly, I didn't expect _that_ to happen so soon."

She blushed, "It's okay Jane. You don't have to be embarrassed about it. It's been so long for you."

He nodded, "That, it has. Next time I'll try to control."

Lisbon frowned, "Hey! You don't have to control yourself. In fact, I'll be glad if you let yourself go. I would appreciate you not using your biofeedback crap. Especially while having sex."

She looked so adorable with that frown. He was glad she hadn't been sad since last couple of days but he loved when she scrunched her brows together. But he had to lighten the mood. "So you can know the power you have over me?"

With a scoff, "Oh please! If I had any power over you, you would've have pulled much less crap."

He just grinned cheekily in response. After some mind numbing kisses later, he told her. "Well I'm going to the Airstream for a while. Need to do some cleaning. I'll drop by in sometime. Is that okay?"

She got up to wear her top, "Yeah okay. You can take my car. But come soon."

It would have been fine if he wouldn't have stolen her car keys after all. He nodded and helped her button up her shirt. "I'll see you soon."

He left the hotel room with a smile. He had around three hours to set his plan in motion, starting now.

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 **Jane is full of surprises isn't he? Please leave a review guys! I would love the feedback :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hi my amazing readers! Apologies for the delay. To make up for it, this chapter is longer as compared to the previous ones. But it was really difficult to write. Hope you guys enjoy and a heartfelt thank you for the reviews. Be advised, this chapter goes into M territory towards the end. So if that's not your cup of tea, feel free to skip it. I would also like to mention once again that I don't own TM and any other things mentioned in this story.**

 **Also I'm on twitter. if anyone wishes to follow me, all you gotta do is check for jacketandboots and follow!**

 **And now...**

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Jane knocked the hotel door around seven. He hadn't taken the key and didn't want to start the "date" in any other way. Yes, Patrick Jane was going to ask Teresa Lisbon for going out with him for their first official date. He knew she would roll her eyes and agree with a blush, but still he wanted to do things the traditional way, a creature of habit that he was in these things.

Lisbon was watching some law enforcement series which was really boring for a law enforcement officer. She had figured out the killer in less than ten minutes. She felt like Jane all of a sudden, he figured out the killers like this in real life. It had to have been someone among the suspects who wasn't given that much of importance during the initial questioning. She glanced at the clock, seven pm. Where the hell was Jane? Did he sleep in the airstream after cleaning it? She was about to call him when she heard the knock.

There he was, with flowers and two clothing bags? He gave her one of his dazzling smiles and entered with a small kiss on her lips. It was so domestic and lovely that she wondered how everyday life would this man would be like. He placed the clothing bags on the couch and turned to her with the lovely bouquet.

"For you." He offered her with a smile.

Lisbon's eyes widened at the amazing gardenia bouquet he brought for her. Jane just grinned knowingly, for he knew she would love it. She inhaled the scent and felt like walking down a garden in a summer evening with Jane. The fragrance was delicate yet memorable. She rose on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you. What's the occasion though?"

Ever practical, his Lisbon. He chuckled, "Can't I just bring flowers for you?"

She shrugged but answered anyway, "Well last time you brought me a hydrangea it was for a trick to catch the killer."

Jane was touched that she still remembered it, "But it didn't squirt water."

She grinned at the memory. "No it didn't. So, what's the occasion?"

He smirked, "Thankfully you don't think it's a trick."

"Is it?"

"No."

"Then tell me!" She yelled from the bedroom where she was bringing out the vase for the flowers.

He waited for her to put the flowers in the vase. When she turned back to him he finally asked, "Would you like to go for dinner with me Teresa?"

She replied nonchalantly. "Sure. We could grab a bite somewhere. Where do you wanna go?"

Jane didn't know whether to be amused or a bit hurt by her answer. He chose the former. "Uh… that's not what I meant."

"What do you mean Jane? And why are you smiling like that?"

Then it dawned on Lisbon. Flowers, clothing bags-most likely a dress, dinner. Patrick Jane was asking her out on a date.

"Oh."

He smirked. "Yeah. Oh."

She couldn't stop the blush rising on her cheeks and merely rolled her eyes, just as Jane had imagined. "Of course, I would love to have dinner with you Patrick."

His eyes darkened when he heard his first name from her. She knew the power she had over him, one call as 'Patrick' and he would melt. He strode towards her and kissed her deeply making her knees weak.

"Now I feel like I should just skip to dessert, my love." He whispered against her ear.

She pulled away reluctantly and managed, "Well I'm hungry." After a moment later she specified, "For food."

He laughed lightly and then handed her one bag. "Your dress."

She looked at him questioningly, "So this is what you were up to the whole afternoon?"

Jane grinned cheekily, "Yes, among other things. I want our first official date to be special."

Lisbon liked the sound of that. She was going out with Jane on their _first official date_. After more than a decade of waiting and longing, they were going on their _first_ date. There would definitely be more of them.

He then shooed her to the bedroom to get ready, telling her to take all the time she needed. Lisbon just shook her head and opened the bag. It revealed a strapless red evening gown, much similar to the pink one she had wore before their dinner in Miami went awry. Nevertheless, it was her perfect size and accentuated her curves greatly. Also, there were simple black pumps with gold capped heel, again her perfect size. There was a small box and a note was written on it, _'Something to match with your cross.'_ She opened it and found a pair of delicate hanging gold earrings which perfectly suited her face and of course, the dress. She got out of her work clothes and wore the dress, expertly zipping the back on her own thanks to yoga. She wore the heels and the earrings and looked in the long mirror. Was there anything the man couldn't do? He had an impeccable taste in everything. It was a bit cold and all her other jackets were still in storage except her usual black leather jacket. She wore it just and discovered that indeed, the jacket went beautifully with the dress. Lisbon had her doubts from time to time that Jane was really a psychic, this moment being one of them. She applied a light coat of make-up to complement her eyes and nodded approvingly at her attire, removing the jacket and coming out in the living room.

She gasped at the sight. Patrick Jane was wearing a dark blue jeans and a pale blue _turtleneck_ that rivaled his eyes. And he was fixing his hair- if merely moving your hands and pushing them back counted as fixing. Lisbon tried to hard so avert her gaze elsewhere but to no avail. He knew turtlenecks were her thing. Maybe strapless dresses were his thing. After all, he had seen her in that pink bridesmaid dress. Come to think of it, he was the one who had suggested Van Pelt to make her a bridesmaid so that she would wear that dress.

Whatever witty remark he was planning died on his lips the moment he saw her. She was beautiful. Pink made her look like an angry little princess but in red, she was a fiery one. _His_ fiery little princess was staring at him with her mouth slightly open. Maybe she figured out that he loved strapless dresses, that they _flipped his switch_. He wanted to pull her close but he couldn't move, just took her all in with his eyes.

Lisbon ran a hand in her hair self-consciously; he was literally staring with an intense gaze. She made her way to him and kept her hands on his shoulders. If she had her handcuffs right now, she would have made a show of arresting him for being so sexy. It should really be a crime for him to look sexy in everything, paper box too if her earlier imagination included. She shamelessly looked at him from top to bottom, with an approving glance at everything. His neck muscles were defined and so was his chest. The jeans hugged him perfectly and she was confused whether to put him out of it or just watch him wearing it. It was the first time she had seen him in casual clothing.

"You look…"

"You look…"

They both said it at the same time and laughed lightly. It helped release some of the charged tension between them. He raised a finger and spoke. "You look unbelievable."

She kissed his finger. "You look amazing. But turtleneck? Really?"

He grinned mischievously and pulled her close. "So my choice was good then?"

Her eyebrows raised, she nodded. "Oh way, way better than good."

His eyes darkened, "I agree."

"Thank you for the earrings. They're lovely." He just waved her hand at that.

She kissed him tenderly, suddenly craving to just stay in here and kiss him senseless. But she wouldn't get to see him in his new outfit and flaunt him to other ladies. She was never the type to do so but who wouldn't flaunt someone as beautiful as Patrick Jane?

He pulled back and smiled. Suddenly, "Oh wait! I think the billing guy put this in my bag by mistake."

"What?" What else was remaining now?

He showed her the black shawl which he had bought to go with the dress. Of course he wouldn't have left any minor details, what was she thinking? He helped her wear it and tuck her hair outside from it. He wore his scruffy old shoes, his regular black suit jacket with his overcoat- a new one as well, and ushered her to the door.

When they reached the parking lot Jane held out a hand to her for her keys. She rolled her eyes and protested, but he argued about the flair of her gown and she wouldn't be able to drive without spoiling it, which was true. She hated when he was right, which was in almost every case, but he drove like a maniac. She handed him the keys under the condition of driving at a regular speed or she would just apply the brakes anytime she pleased. Jane shook his head at the situation. Here they were out on their first official date all dressed up and yet they were arguing like an old married couple.

Lisbon knew it was moot to ask him about the venue so she asked what was in her mind since she saw him after getting ready. "So, you remember about turtlenecks then?"

He shrugged, "It's easy to remember when you don't forget."

She shook her head and looked out at the window with a small smile. It was barely a fifteen minute drive when Jane pulled up outside a nightclub.

"Seriously? Here? Aren't we a little overdressed for this?" She turned to him with wide eyes.

"Hush!" was his only reply. He shooed her outside and handed the key to the valet. He held her hand and whispered in her ear, "Just trust me okay."

He led the way and brought her behind the club where a spacious yet cozy restaurant was located. She never knew a place like this existed, that too behind a nightclub. But when she entered 'Marie's'- of course Jane would take care of that little coincidence, she realized the place was for private events. The waiter greeted and asked for their coat and shawl. There were ten tables with beige tablecloth and deep red chairs. The walls were a darker shade of brown with small lights above each table. She was delighted to see a dance floor right in the middle of the restaurant and also a stage for the live band. There were spotlights for the floor but thankfully they were the normal ones, unlike the disco lights. Despite the stage for the band, there were four speakers at every upper corner of the restaurant where smooth jazz was being played for now. Jane had booked an entire restaurant for them. She couldn't decide to be annoyed or be swooning at him for this.

She turned to him and murmured, "Jane, this is too much."

He simply shrugged and led her to their table. "It's what you deserve." He pulled out her chair, helped her settle and sat opposite her. The waiter brought the wine menu but Jane just ordered a Cabernet Sauvignon. The waiter put their tablecloths for them and hurried away for their wine.

Jane knew whatever he had planned was good. But he still wanted to know from the woman herself. Suddenly he became nervous and asked. "So, did you like the first part of the surprise?"

"There's more?"

"Of course."

She made a mock expression of serious thought and replied, "Well, I was actually expecting a violinist to pop up anytime."

He released a breath, relieved and smirked. "Sarcasm, wine and everything fine."

Lisbon tried to respond like him. "You don't need to be so kind, you're already mine."

Jane laughed heartily and took her hand. "Have I mentioned how beautiful you look tonight?"

She blushed. "Once or twice."

He nodded. "You look like you're on fire."

Lisbon snorted. She wasn't sure if this was a compliment or a joke. "What?"

"No! No, I mean in a good way. You see, red, fire, hot. That's a better word. You look hot. I know you'd prefer beautiful… which you are… but you look hot too." He was positively rambling. He wasn't nervous like this since his first date with Angela, who would be laughing right now looking down at him.

She held his hand and tried not to laugh. "Yeah yeah. And you look like the sea. Because of your turtleneck." After a moment, "I mean it in a good way too."

Jane shrugged and suggested, "Maybe that's why we calm each other down. You know, fire and water."

She added, "And leave a lot of smoke." To which Jane asked, "What?"

They both laughed at the absurdity of their conversation but he knew in his heart that if Lisbon wouldn't have been there to calm him, to soothe him, to keep him sane, he wouldn't have been here today. Her support was what kept him going. And her existence in his life was the sole reason for him to wake up every morning.

The waiter arrived with their wine and handed the food menu. Jane waved his hand and simply ordered a romaine lettuce salad for them. She raised an eyebrow but nodded to the waiter, just what she wanted. Maybe Jane checked the menu while booking for the night, she thought.

"How did you find this place?" Unless Jane would roam and search, there was no way he would find a place like this. He was after all, technologically backward man, preferring books over computers.

"I asked Betty this afternoon, the receptionist. Just like yesterday, except tonight I asked her for any place which held private events. She suggested this one and I checked it out, I was actually worried about the nightclub noises but its fine, just like the manager told me." After a moment, "Actually, he owns the nightclub as well. So he offered me the whole nightclub, 'cause he thought I'm organizing a party." He chuckled. "Then I mentioned the date."

"And the name? Marie's?"

He waved his hand. "That's just a coincidence. You know I don't believe in them but in this case, I do."

Lisbon just chuckled and shook her head. "This is beautiful. Thank you."

He grinned, "I'm glad."

"Although, next time we're going to an actual nightclub."

Jane nodded and took a sip. He knew they were in this for a long run. Still it felt so good hearing it from Lisbon. They would have a next date. And many more.

He couldn't help teasing. "So you can flaunt me to the other ladies?"

"You wish!"

"Ha! High voice."

Of course she would flaunt him in front of the ladies, though she would deny it every time he brought it up. He was the kind of man you would show the world, holding him close and throwing daggers to anyone who tried to come near him. She could also point her gun. Lisbon was never the type to do this, but she hadn't been with any other man remotely close to Jane and he surely pushed her boundaries.

Their salad arrived minutes later and both dug in with gusto. They fed each other small bites and enjoyed the music. Later, Jane ordered scallops and roasted duck for Lisbon once again without looking in the menu. He knew Lisbon was a meat and potatoes girl and he loved it. Maybe someday when they got the chance, he would prepare a feast for her and Cho, Grace and Wayne could come for a couple of days as vacation. It would be just like their old days except now he would unabashedly tell everyone about their change in the relationship and Lisbon would give him her ultimate death-glare. He was lost in thought for a moment when Lisbon waved her hand in front his face to bring him out of his thoughts.

"You okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah sorry. Just thinking about something."

"Was it something good?"

He chuckled. "Oh yes, very good."

"Okay." She gave him a dimpled smile and sipped her wine.

After their dinner Lisbon expected Jane to order a dessert but he instead offered his hand. The man was full of surprises.

"Is that my dessert?" She asked dryly.

He chuckled and answered. "Soon, my dear. But now…" He signaled to the waiter who signaled a band to get on the stage.

As the singer began the notes of 'I'll be' started Lisbon looked at Jane with delight. He brought her to the centre of the stage and slowly swayed to the music. Lisbon held his right hand and played with his hair at the nape of his neck with the other. He held her flush against him, dipped his head near her neck and began murmuring the notes in her ear, sending a shiver down her whole body. He wasn't exactly a great singer, but he could carry a tune way better than her. This was undoubtedly the best date she'd ever been to. Dinner and dancing, every woman's dream for a perfect date. But not many men could do it perfectly, and Patrick Jane was truly an exception. The song ended and she rested her head on his chest. Jane whispered, "We're not done yet."

She pulled back. "There's more?"

"One more song."

Jane saw the love in her eyes and he was sure he got weak in the knees because of it. He managed to speak, suddenly blushing because of the song he had specially requested. "I hope you like this one. Especially this one."

She looked at him questioningly but widened her eyes once 'Unchained Melody' began. Jane looked hopefully for an approval but Lisbon kissed him softly on the lips. He kissed her with equal passion but had to pull back, mindful of the company. They swayed lightly at the music. As the song ended, Jane twirled her once and hugged her tightly. They pulled back after a moment and she just nodded. He had his answer and he was happy to his core that Lisbon enjoyed his little surprise. He grinned and made his way to the band, shaking the vocalist's hand and thanking him for the songs. The other musicians just tipped their hats and nodded to him. Jane paid the check and they left the hotel with big smiles on their faces.

Once the valet brought their car, she went close and kissed him on the cheek. "I had a great time, thank you so much Jane."

He smiled and kissed her cheek in return. "The night is still young, my love. We have somewhere else to go now."

Grinning, "Then lead the way my human golden chariot."

Lisbon had her own version of humor, he chuckled. He drove off outside the city and she was genuinely curious as to where he would take her. When she asked he made a show of zipping his mouth and throwing the keys outside, so she just rolled her eyes and let him drive.

Jane asked her to check the time, which was rather odd because they wouldn't have to worry about getting late. _Maybe wherever he's taking me closes in a while,_ she thought. When Lisbon told him it was nearing ten, there was a blinding smile on his face and he suggested, "It's too quiet here. Music?"

She merely shrugged, "Sure."

He switched to a music channel where a late show had just begun. The RJ began her usual introduction and played a couple of songs. But then she announced, "So now we have a special message from Rick for his lovely girlfriend Reese." She turned to him quickly at the mention of 'Reese' and he just grinned. "If you're listening Reese, Rick here wants to say he's finally happy after so long because of you and he wants to thank you for that. Also he has a special song request for you. Isn't that sweet guys? Coming right up! Unforgettable by Nat King Cole, from Rick for Reese. This is RJ Sally on VX Radio, keep it sound."

When the song began playing, he turned to her and asked. "Too cheesy?"

Lisbon chuckled, "Yeah a bit, but I love it. But really? Rick?"

He laughed. "Yeah. Felt like a Rick and Reese thing to do. Plus, this way some part of the world known I'm totally yours. Well some part of Texas at least."

"You're so full of surprises. Since the day I met you, you've always surprised me in some or the other way." She blushed a little at her confession.

He was singing along and between the notes he replied, "I have made you mad in some or the other way as well."

She shook her head. "True. But I wouldn't have it any other way." She held his right hand as he kept driving at a steady pace. They reached a somewhere just outside the city where Jane turned to the side and drove the car off the road, parking it on the sandy plane. They got out of the car and Jane led her to a nearby rock where he sat on it and held her flushed against his chest.

Lisbon took a sharp breath at the scenic sky. Jane sighed and put his chin on her shoulder, all the while gazing upwards. It was soothing to just be there, in each other's arms, looking at the wonders of the universe, forgetting about the world.

"Beautiful." She murmured. "How did you find this place?"

He kissed her on the cheek and whispered, "Before I got the airstream, I was staying at a hotel. It was just for a couple of nights. I couldn't sleep one night and decided to just keep driving till exhaustion. I took the rental and began to wander away anywhere I could. Then I came across this place and just stayed here at this very spot looking at the stars. Next thing I knew, I was waking up from a blissful sleep besides this rock and the rental car was thankfully here. I know there aren't many chances of a car getting stolen on a highway but still. I decided to show you this place whenever possible, so here we are. Certainly beats the planetarium I had gone with Charlotte."

Lisbon froze for a moment after hearing his daughter's name and turned in his embrace. His eyes didn't have that level of pain which was around a decade ago. Instead there was massive joy about sharing something so intimate with her. He was really trying, she could tell. Her hands went to his waist and she kissed him tenderly. Jane held her by her back and deepened the kiss. It was one of her fantasy to kiss and be kissed under the stars which Jane fulfilled tonight. After all these years she still doubted if he was really a psychic, just like earlier in the evening. She smiled in the kiss and Jane took that opportunity to move his tongue around her lips. He moaned softly at the heady combination of wine and Lisbon and his fingers dug deep in her back. The need for air finally pulled them apart and they stood there with Jane's forehead on hers.

"Thank you for bringing me here. I loved it." She whispered.

He kissed her one more time and led her to her car. "Come on. Our final stop is still remaining."

"I thought we were going back to the hotel."

Jane shook his head. "I thought we could go somewhere more… intimate." After a moment he added, "Personal as well."

"Where?"

"Did I tell you the first two locations woman?" He sighed in mock annoyance.

She thought for a moment and asked. "Are you taking me to my place?" She was a detective after all. Now that he thought about it, he was proud that she was figuring out his ideas slowly. When he didn't answer she smirked, "So I figured it out eh?"

His eye-roll was the only answer and she smirked at that. After starting the car, he added. "Come to think of it, it wasn't that difficult to figure it out."

Lisbon knew he hated to lose. Not that this was a contest anyway. "Will you feel better if I act surprised?"

Jane grinned. "Maybe."

They shared a comfortable silence for the rest of the drive. When Jane stopped the car outside her house, she feigned surprise. "What? Here? How did you manage that? I'm so impressed Jane. Wow!"

He laughed heartily. "If you could just tone it up a little more, I could see your enthusiasm."

She gave an unladylike snort and got out of the car. She waited at the doorstep till he parked it and came to stand beside her. When they stood just inches apart, Lisbon kissed him deeply. "I had a great time." She murmured.

He grinned. "Me too."

She smiled seductively, "Would you like to come in?"

"Considering the point that I planned everything, it would be a shame if I didn't get to see you being totally smitten."

She rolled her eyes. "A little too ahead of ourselves, aren't we?"

When he handed her the keys, she scoffed knowing well that he stole it from her earlier that afternoon. He won't risk a punch in his face if he picked her lock, so stealing the keys was logical. She chuckled lightly.

"What?"

"Just thought about your gesture and I considered stealing my house keys as logical. Guess you're rubbing off on me."

He grinned. "I guess I am."

He flicked on the lights and she was amazed to see her couch and table in place. Also, the refrigerator was connected to the plug. He went ahead as if he owned the place and pulled out a carton of chocolate ice-cream and two plastic spoons. She removed her heels and plopped on the couch with a sigh, Jane tossed his jacket on the table and joining her.

"Dessert is served, my dear."

"Thank you. Although, now I'm really curious. How did you manage all this?" She fed him a spoonful.

He simply shrugged. "A little bit of charm and persuasion goes a long way. And our date was worth it, you're worth it."

She leaned on to him and kissed him softly on the cheek, "You're worth everything too, after all these years, I'm so glad we made it."

At that, he stood abruptly and put the ice cream back in the freezer. She was going to ask him about his sudden mood change but she found herself picked up bridal style and carried to the bedroom.

"Jane!" She protested, but she was thrilled as well. He put her gently on the bed and began kissing her. "Just trust me." He murmured between kisses. She mildly took notice of her bed made with new pillows, new sheets and a large blanket at the edge.

They kept on exploring their mouths passionately, each new sensation releasing a moan from both of them. As much as Lisbon loved seeing Jane in a turtleneck, she pulled it off and threw it away. He groaned in her mouth as her nimble fingers sent shivers down his entire body, his lips never leaving hers. She roamed her hands from his neck to his waist, appreciatively growling at every well toned part of his body. She felt his desire at her thigh and she expertly flipped them so he could work on his zipper while she could just admire his body.

Jane slowly unzipped her dress, revealing her pert breasts. He raised his head and gave equal attention to both of them, suckling on one while pressing another. She sighed and held his hair tightly. Jane took his time learning her favorite things, her sighs and moans as he hit any particular spot. She got up from the bed and expertly removed her dress. Now only in her lace panties, she winked at him and slowly removed his jeans, her hands grazing on his erection a bit longer. He hissed at the sensation and kicked away his shoes. Lisbon giggled and removed his socks and jeans, moving her hands on his boxer briefs.

"Teresa…" He moaned. "I can't hold on for much longer."

"Sssh… Stop worrying and stop thinking. Whatever happens, its okay."

She pulled away his briefs and his erection sprang up. This was the moment she had dreamed of since the past decade. Patrick Jane was on her bed, the sexiest man she'd even seen, gloriously rumpled and naked, his angelic curls all over, ready for her. He let out a sharp breath when she took him in his mouth. She moved her lips slowly around him, licking the crown and Jane gripped the comforter unbelievably tighter. He wanted to use all the biofeedback tricks he knew but Lisbon had told him not to. And if this was the feeling after being under her spell, he would gladly listen to anything.

She gave one last kiss down there and made her way up, kissing his stomach, his torso, his chest, his neck and finally his lips. Jane flipped them and wasted no time in getting rid of her panties. He kissed her sensitive spot below her ear, eliciting a whimper from her and his fingers made their way to her very core. As he entered one, she gasped at the heady sensation and he muffled her cries with his kiss. He entered one more finger and she shivered, as she released a wave, and then another. Jane kissed her one last time on the lips and rushed down to tease her more. His first flick of his tongue made her grab his curls tightly. He expertly worked her up with his tongue and fingers, bringing another wave of orgasm from her. He burned this moment in his memory palace. She somehow managed, "Please…" and that was all he needed to get back above her.

When her small frame was beneath him, he gently demanded. "Open your eyes Teresa. I wanna see them."

She opened her eyes and looked at him desperately. They were a shade of dark green, waiting for him with undisguised desire. He was pretty sure his were darkened too. Slowly, he lowered himself and entered into her. They both gasped and sighed at the feel of naked skin against naked skin from top to bottom for the first time, and she gave him a small nod, encouraging him to go on. He established a slow rhythm and she kissed him on his neck. He raised her legs slowly and moaned in delight, his mouth forming an ecstatic smile. She gently crossed her legs around his waist and matched his rhythm. When he got fast, she gasped. "Jane!"

"No. Say my name Teresa."

She softly bit him on his shoulder and he moved faster. "Oh God… Patrick!"

That did it, and he came, crashing down with a strangled cry. He put his whole weight on her and she just moved her hands on his back and hair. His weight was welcoming, and he sighed near her ear. She felt a tear sliding down from her neck to her back and she gently pushed him to face her. "Are you okay?" She asked with concern.

He nodded, wiping his eyes. "Never better my love, never better." He quickly cleaned himself in the bathroom and slid down besides her, kissing her hair. "It was so wonderful, Teresa."

She nodded against his chest. "I know it must have been difficult for you." She asked after a moment later, "Do you regret it? Do you think we went fast?"

He looked at her with widened eyes. "No! Why would you think that? Let me clear something. Since the moment I have declared my love for you, it has always been good memories. No regrets at all."

Her eyes watered and she sniffed. "Me too, Patrick. Only good memories. I just wanted to know what you feel. God knows how long I have waited for this."

He chuckled and kissed her on her forehead. After a couple of minutes she raised her head to say something only to find him fast asleep. They were finally together in every sense now. She squeezed him once and stared at the ceiling. He had planned this amazing evening, hell booked an entire restaurant just for them. She always knew she loved him more than he loved her, because he always held himself back. But now, he was getting there. They finally broke all the walls and let each other in. _It's going to be a great ride Teresa._ With that thought, she sighed and went to sleep.

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 **The songs I mentioned in here are "I'll be- Edwin McCain", "Unchained Melody- Righteous Brothers" and of course "Unforgettable- Nat King Cole." Thank you for reading this, Please review so I can personally thank you! :)**

 **Once again, look up for jacketandboots on twitter if you want to follow.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hi guys I'm back with a new chapter. Apologies for the delay. Before we begin with this one, I want you to know that I joined FF exactly a year back. I came across a lot of wonderful stories which in turn inspired me to write one. And then I received such great support from all of you. So a huge thank you for my every inspiration, every reader, every follower, every reviewer and every supporter. This chapter is for all of you. I hope you like this as our dear Agent Lisbon receives another surprise :D**

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When Jane woke up from a blissful sleep, he felt two things he hadn't for over a decade. First being a woman in his arms and second being his morning glory. Living like a monk all these years had its effects but just one night with Teresa Lisbon and all his senses were ignited again. _Best way to wake up,_ he decided at that moment. He released a deep breath and tried to get up but the woman in his arms instinctively held him closer. He chuckled softly and somehow extricated himself from her clutches, kissing her forehead on the way and went to the bathroom. Lisbon just sighed and shuffled to rest on her stomach. Jane quickly came back and just kept studying her.

For the first time he got to see her totally bare- literally and figuratively. She was delicate, yet tough. Her touch was gentle, yet strong enough to send shivers up his spine. Her eyes were warm and he could just drown himself in those pools. She was petite yet she could tackle people twice her size- which would turn him on occasionally, not that he acknowledged it ever but he would from now on. She was a contradiction and Jane wouldn't have it any other way.

Their date was perfect with the food, songs, dancing, the stars and finally the dessert. He wasn't old but he still liked to do certain things the traditional way. And the way she reacted to every surprise, he knew she enjoyed it immensely. Oh he so wanted to use certain biofeedback for controlling himself on the bed so as to not embarrass himself. But one look from her and he just couldn't. She would expect him to be honest about everything and she was right in that aspect. At that instant, he decided there would be no more secrets between him and her. If the occasion arose, he would even tell her some stories about his past. He knew she won't force him for anything like this, but he wanted to share. After last night, there was nothing that would come in their way.

Except for his wedding band. The light from the nearby window made the band glint and Jane couldn't help but sigh. He knew Lisbon was an incredibly patient woman but their relationship changed everything now. He was trying, he really was and she understood. Letting go of something which was the sole purpose of your life isn't an easy job, although he later realized that Lisbon was as important to him as catching Red John. But he didn't want her to just 'understand' anymore, she had done that enough. He was stuck in a dilemma. He couldn't even remove the ring- it was just too hard and he couldn't even give her the commitment for now. This was still very new to him and if he was honest with himself, a little scary. He had more to lose now than he did ever before.

The said brunette was still asleep, oblivious to his thoughts. They had to return to the hotel at some point where they could actually have a lazy day. Her house was warm and comfortable but there was nothing in here except a box of her clothes, new sheets, her couch and table and their half eaten ice-cream. A part of Jane's mind suggested that they would have to plan everything and move her stuff back as soon as possible, while the other part suggested delaying that and just enjoying their time-off. He would have to ask Lisbon what she wanted; after all he was planning this for both of them.

Lisbon was lying on her stomach and the sheets were down till her waist, exposing her perfect back. She didn't even stir when Jane tried to wake her up, just mumbled something incoherent and turned her face in the pillow. He just chuckled and decided to count her freckles on the back. But instead of pointing with his fingers, he began to kiss each one of them and kept counting till he reached her waist. Lisbon moaned in pleasure and Jane knew that the woman was wide awake now, and wanted him to go on. But he had other intentions.

Jane slowly went back besides her and pulled her for a deep kiss. "Good morning." She whispered.

Her gave her his dazzling smile and whispered back. "Indeed it is."

She shifted in his arms and went closer. "I have to admit; I have imagined this scenario so many times but always convinced myself that it was too good to be true."

Jane kissed the tip of her nose. "Me too. In the attic, in your office, on your couch, on _my_ couch."

Lisbon playfully swatted him on his chest but that small honest admission gave her a warm fuzzy. She got up to get dressed. "Come on let's head back to the hotel."

He nodded. "Yes ma'am."

They were munching on their delicious breakfast back at the hotel when Lisbon's cell phone rang. Upon seeing the number she answered with a delight. "Annabeth! Hi!" Jane smiled in his cup at the mention of little Lisbon.

"Aunt Reese! How many times do I have to tell you its Annie?" The playful voice of her niece was enough for both of them to shake their heads in amusement.

" _Annie_ , what's up? How have you been?"

"I'm good. Actually, dad told me you were going to move to DC this week. Are you there already?"

Lisbon looked towards Jane and blushed before replying, "No. I'm still in Austin. I'm not going to DC." Jane being Jane smirked triumphantly at her. She made a mock show of aiming her fork at him.

Annie asked, "As much as I would love to hear the details, tell me. Why aren't you at your house?"

Lisbon's eyes widened. "You're here? In Austin?"

Annie chirped excitedly, "Yeah! I have good news for you. So I flew from Sacramento as soon as I could."

With a hint of suspicion, "What good news?"

"God are you gonna interrogate me over the phone or give me an address?" She asked with annoyance.

"Oh right, sorry. Wrentwood Inn & Suites. We'll meet you at the lobby."

"We?"

Lisbon laughed lightly before answering, "Well even I have a surprise for you, kid." She winked at Jane.

Excitedly, "I'll be right there Aunt Reese. See you soon."

"Okay see ya!" Lisbon hanged up. She pointed her fork towards Jane and instructed. "Finish your breakfast a-s-a-p. We have to receive a very special guest."

Jane gave her a mock-salute. For a second time since their day began, he said. "Yes ma'am."

Annie was just about to ask the receptionist when Lisbon called out her name. She rushed to her aunt, her duffel bag forgotten there itself, and gave her a giant bear hug, as giant as two petite women could be.

"Oh it's so good to see you Aunt Reese!" Annie's voice muffled from Lisbon's shoulder.

"You too kid. It's been so long." She pulled back and looked lovingly at her now nineteen year old niece.

"Hello Annabeth." Jane called from behind Lisbon. "Picked any more pockets?"

Annie peeked behind Lisbon and exclaimed, "Hey! Patrick!" She went past her aunt to hug him too, which was surprising for both of them. Jane hugged her briefly and patted her back. Annie gave him his phone and Jane nodded approvingly. "Very good. But not as good as this." He returned her wallet and she just smirked. "You still didn't teach me how you did that."

Lisbon just rolled her eyes at the duo's exchange and ushered Annie to their room while Jane went for her duffel bag near the reception desk, happy to be the little Lisbon's bellhop. Annie got the general gist of them being together, _finally Aunt Reese._

"Do you need some breakfast Annie?" Jane asked once they entered their room.

"That would be great, thanks!" She nodded vigorously. Jane realized the poor kid must have picked a flight at dawn, no doubt she was hungry. Lisbon had told him after their breakfast that she had made a deal with her previous condo's owner to make Annie and Tommy as their next tenant. Jane called up at the desk and asked for half of what they had ordered earlier in the morning.

"So what is the good news Annabeth?" Lisbon asked, somewhat eagerly.

Annie rolled her eyes at the use of her full name but took out a sheet of paper and passed it to her aunt. One look at the paper and Lisbon's eyes widened and she asked, "You applied to the police academy?"

After receiving an excited nod, Lisbon looked at her with half pride and half doubt. "You know I'm happy for you. But I have to ask, are you sure about this?"

Annie replied with enough confidence. "I am and I have been accepted. My grades are fine and I'll be starting my training in a month."

Lisbon didn't know how to make her understand. She remembered her start of the career. Even if it was fun and challenging, it always meant physical injuries during training, all-night stakeouts, missing on important events- more and more as your career grew, no social life like a normal person. She remembered telling these exact same things to Annie when she mentioned this years ago. She was proud of her niece, she really was. The only thing she was concerned that she was putting her life at risk at such a young age.

Jane wisely decided to not mouth off any smartass remarks. This was serious. He could tell it by looking at Lisbon. But he was genuinely happy for Annie. When she showed Lisbon her acceptance letter, he knew at that instant why Annie chose to be a police officer. As much as he wanted to explain it to Lisbon, he knew it would be appropriate if the little one did the explaining. His thoughts went to his little girl. Charlotte would have been around Annie's age. Would she have chosen to be just like him? Or would she have chosen to be like her mother? He would never know. But at present, there was little Lisbon. He would support her as much as her aunt would.

"Are you sure you're happy for me Aunt Reese?" Annie smirked.

Just then, breakfast arrived. Jane thanked the bellhop and brought it for Annie. "Of course your aunt is happy, she's just having a hard time explaining certain things about police work to you."

Lisbon shot a glance at Jane but Annie just rolled her eyes. "Oh please! I have spent years with dad being his backup. I can handle a shotgun pretty well. This won't be that difficult."

Her aunt interjected, "It's not that. Your life would be at risk at all times, you've seen your dad. You are so young Annabeth. You could so something more amazing than being a police officer."

Jane did his best to stifle a chuckle when Annie raised her fork, much like Lisbon had before. She would grow to be just like her aunt, there was no doubt about that. "Look, after high-school ended me and dad had a talk about what I wanted to do, what I wanted to be. He finally realized it won't help to drag me with him for his bounty. You were always my inspiration Aunt Reese. I always saw dad's eyes light up whenever you would tell him about a random arrest or anything work related. He is so proud of you. You might not believe it but I have seen it. He is very proud of you for how you have raised him and Uncle Jim and Uncle Stan." She blinked furiously to hold her tears. "Dad just asked me if I wanted to go to college. He was planning to send me Chicago at Uncle Stan's. But I told him I wanted to become like the person he admires, the person I admire. That's you, Aunt Reese. You are badass and you put bad guys away. Maybe there are more promising careers, but I want to be a promising person; just like you."

Lisbon just sat there, stunned. It was so much to take in. Lisbon was sad over the years for she didn't get to spend much time with her family, never did she realize she could inspire someone by that. Despite her worries, she knew Annie would be a wonderful cop, even better than her. She just pulled her niece and gave her another bear hug. "I'm so proud of you kid."

"Thank you Aunt Reese. I hope I get a partner like Patrick too." Annie giggled.

"Oh careful what you wish for." Lisbon warned her playfully.

Jane put a hand on his chest. "Ah dear, you wound me."

She just shook her head and motioned for Annie to complete her breakfast. When she sat beside Jane she put her head on his shoulder and asked him, "How do you plan to celebrate this? I know you have something in mind."

Jane chuckled. "You're getting better, my love. You can almost read me now. How about that night club you were thinking yesterday? It won't be our second date but I'm sure you and Annabeth would enjoy."

She kissed his cheek. "Sounds wonderful."

He put a hand on her shoulder and his phone rang. It was Cho.

"Maybe they are stuck on some case." Lisbon wondered.

Jane nodded. "Yeah, maybe. I'll let you ladies catch up. See you in the evening. I'll call you."

"Okay." Lisbon smiled as they both stood up. He gave her a quick hug and a chaste peck on her lips. He waved to Annie and left for the beloved FBI headquarters, wondering how much Annie will share about her aunt to him. It was going to be a fun evening.

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 **How was it? Please review.**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm so sorry for not updating this. Real life and Writer's block is a bad combination. Although I have uploaded a one-shot some days back. I'll try to update regularly from now on. And thank you so much for your reviews. I love them!**  
 **Now, for some girl time between Annie and Lisbon! Enjoy :)**

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When Jane left for the HQ Lisbon sighed and plopped down on the couch, switching on the television. Annie was quietly munching down her breakfast. She was just about to change a channel when her cell buzzed. It was a text from Jane.

 _Last night was wonderful. You looked beautiful as ever._

She blushed at that. She remembered they hadn't really talked about last night till now. Also Jane had complimented her only a handful of times before this. It felt good to hear sweet things from him. She quickly replied back.

 _You looked good too. Like always. Thank you so much for a wonderful night._

A minute later her phone buzzed again.

 _Like always eh? A compliment from you? That's rare._

She laughed lightly and Annie looked at her with a questioning look. She just waved at her niece and gave a quick reply.

 _Shut up!_

After a few seconds- _Now that's more like it. I'll call you later._

 _Okay. Be careful._

Lisbon kept flipping the channels to find something good but her thoughts went back to the most wonderful date she ever had. Jane was so sweet. He knew just the right things for her, about her. She loved the way he swayed her body with his when the band played the songs only for them. He was a great dancer. Well they had danced a decade ago in the high school reunion case but she was the one who had declared 'No funny stuff' rule. What she never told anybody was she had enjoyed being so close with him for the first time. They had danced on one of her favorite songs while he continued to guess the instrument she played. Now that she remembered, he had asked her to recognize the tune on an army victim's tattoo and she didn't even realize he had guessed it correctly in the first try even if she had denied it- clarinet. But while dancing yesterday there were no guesses about the instruments, just sweet nothings whispered as they continued to revel in the joy.

In all these years, their date was another example of Patrick Jane not doing anything normally. The only time he decided to wear something casual, he chose a damn turtleneck! He looked unbelievably sexy in everything. It really should be a crime to look this good, she thought with a small chuckle. With him it was- Want to have dinner? I'll book the whole restaurant. Want to dance? No problem! I'll book a band. Want to go on a date? Sure! I'll buy an entire outfit for both of us! She wondered what else he had in store for them.

Then he actually dedicated a song to her on the radio! When she had asked him about it he had just mentioned 'It seemed like a Rick and Reese kind of thing'. Sure it was cheesy, but Lisbon loved cheesy once in a while. _Which red blooded woman won't?_ She hoped there would be more 'Rick and Reese' kind of things for them; she was really looking forward to it.

They finally made love last night. After years and years of longing, wishing and hoping they finally got together in every sense of the word. She never doubted his charms but last night exceeded her hopes. Sure it was hard for him. He basically lived like a monk all these years. But he was trying for her, and that was enough for her. He even spoke about Charlotte when they were under the stars. She would love to go there gain. Even if Jane disagreed, he was perfect for her in so many ways. It was time to show him that. After all he loved using his powers of observation, mentalist that he was. She would make him feel loved by showing him. The way he made her happy with little things, she would do just that.

Now that she thought about it, they never addressed last night when they woke up. They had just left for the hotel with a sweet morning kiss. Lisbon was already addicted to Jane's kisses. She never would have guessed him to be such an amazing kisser. Sure she had fantasized about it countless number of times, but that feeling when fantasy became a reality was something else. If she could declare it, she would say _Jane_ was something else.

Lisbon must have spaced out for a good amount of time. She heard Annie calling for her. When did she come and sit beside her, she didn't even realize it. "Did you say something Annie?"

Annie sat down besides her on the couch. "I said I need to call Dad. I haven't informed him yet that I got here."

"Well then do it! I thought you must have called him the minute you landed." After a moment she realized something more. "Wait. Your dad knew I was leaving for DC this weekend. Yet he sent you here?"

Annie shook her head. "I decided to come here. I was so happy I got the letter I wanted to see you right away."

"And what if I would've left for DC? You would've taken another flight and came there?"

She had the grace to look sheepish but nodded anyway. "I guess. I wanted to tell you in person Aunt Reese. A phone conversation wouldn't have been enough for this."

Her aunt took her hand and smiled. "Yes that's true. Now call your dad."

They both spent around ten minutes talking to Tommy on the phone. He was also curious to know why Reese had decided to stay after all. He didn't know much about Jane but he figured something must have happened between her and that Marcus guy. Of course, Annie had to clarify every doubt he had, specifying 'Aunt loves Patrick' because of which Lisbon's face grew redder with every question. By the time they finished the call, her niece was smirking with satisfaction.

When that was done, Annie jumped and turned to her on the couch. Excitedly, "Now that's settled, tell me what happened here! I mean I always thought you were in love with Patrick but still. You were going to DC. What made you stay back here?"

Her aunt scoffed. "You very well know what made me stay back here. You yourself said it to your Dad."

Annie just rolled her eyes. "God Aunt Reese you don't understand! Two people loved you- well love you. What made you stay back here with Patrick instead of going back to Marcus? From what Dad told me, he was pretty great too. Why did you choose Jane? Was it just love or something else too?"

Lisbon just looked at her for a minute. "You're nineteen, how would you understand anything about love?" She hoped she didn't hurt Annie by that remark.

And apparently she didn't because Annie just smirked at her. "Hello! I have seen Dad and my Uncle Stan haven't I? They both are opposite examples when it comes to love."

"How?" Her aunt was actually intrigued by her niece's attentiveness.

She just shrugged. A moment later she said, "From what I've heard from Dad, he and Mom didn't think twice before getting married, even though they knew each other only for a couple of months. Dad wasn't even successful enough, you must know that obviously. Now he says they didn't even know each other that well enough."

Lisbon nodded. "Yeah, they got married only after getting together for three months."

"On the other hand, I see Uncle Stan and Aunt Karen as the ideal couple in our family. They took their time, according to you and Dad and look at them now. Ten years and already they have three children, fourth on its way. Look how happy they are. Why didn't you choose this? I mean you could have gotten this easily from Marcus. The easy way. Why did you stay here then?"

Her aunt sat there, a bit surprised. When had her little girl grown up so much? Well Lisbon knew she didn't get to enjoy her childhood much because of the continuous fights between her parents and then the divorce, but she never thought Annie would be looking out for her aunt who met her once in two years. Then again, Annie didn't have any female figure in her family as close as Lisbon.

She released a deep breath and answered, "Well the short version is… the heart wants what it wants."

Annie bit back a growl. "If you don't wanna answer that's okay. Sorry I asked."

Now Lisbon knew she was waving off her niece. She was genuinely curious to know about her aunt's decisions. She shook her head. "No no don't say that. It's just… still so new for me."

"I know it's new. But I still wanna know Aunt Reese."

Her Aunt Reese sighed. "This could take hours Annabeth. What do you wanna know now?"

She ignored the 'Annabeth' part and asked again. "What made you choose Patrick after all this time?"

Lisbon sighed. "It's more like when haven't I chose Jane. We have known each other for a quarter of our lives now. Be it his outrageous plans or his irritating behavior with the superiors, I have always chosen him. Hell I got suspended for him, gave up all the chances of promotion in the CBI to save his ass. I always cared for him Annie, but there was a time he was gone for six months… that time apart between us made me realize I felt something more about him. It's something beyond care, I know this because I cared- care about every member of my team then as well as now. But it was something different, something more for Jane. It has always been like that."

Annie was listening to every word carefully. She asked a moment later, "Being with Marcus made you realize that?"

Lisbon thought for a moment. "You could say that. But to be honest there was nothing wrong with Marcus. He was nice, stable and a good person. It felt good to be needed by someone." She instantly remembered the time when Jane had said the exact words to her- 'It's good to be needed. Anything for you Lisbon.' She continued, "When Jane returned after two years anyone could tell he was changed. Somehow he had made peace with himself and his past. Because of that I waited for him to make a move."

Annie asked, "Why didn't _you_ make a move Aunt Reese?"

She glared playfully at her niece but answered, "Honestly? I don't know. Maybe I always felt after all that I have done for him, he must do something for me. There wasn't a sword dangling above us anymore and Jane seemed happy to be back. I'm thankful that he chose me as his first condition to work with the FBI, which gave me an amazing job. But I expected more from him, something which would not only change our professional lives, but personal too."

A moment later she continued, "And now of all times, he decided to be the good guy. All these years he continued to be a pain in the ass consultant and now when I thought we'll be back to how it was, he decided to be good. When Marcus came along, I expected Jane to be his usual self, irritating the hell out of Marcus, humiliating him in some way; but he didn't."

Annie was totally enjoying this. Aunt Reese had never shared so many details in recent years, unlike before when they were in constant touch. She had truly missed her aunt. "So did Patrick even try to uh… confront you even once?"

Lisbon stared ahead, as if she clearly recalled that memory. "Oh yeah he tried. He came at my doorstep with cannoli, but chickened out at the last minute." She laughed lightly, "I chickened out too. Didn't stop him even once. Who knows what would have happened?"

"Can I be honest with you?"

"Sure! You can tell me anything Annabeth."

Annie prepared herself for a smack on the head but said it anyway, "No offense, but you both were idiots." Any moment now, her aunt would swat her on the head but it didn't come. Instead she laughed, "You're right. We were."

Breathing a sigh of relief, she asked. "Who confessed finally? You or him?"

Lisbon blushed before replying, "He did. He uh… stopped my flight from taking off. Came inside with a limp and confessed in front of a hundred people." She was not prepared for the high pitched squeal from Annie.

"Oh my God! He did what?"

Lisbon nodded, still laughing lightly. "Yeah he did."

Without losing her pitch Annie asked, "And you obviously got off the plane! Wow! This is sooo romantic! Just like Rachel got off the plane!"

Lisbon eyed her. "Please tell me you did not make a sitcom reference to our situation here!"

Her niece ignored that. She kept on going, "This is by far the most romantic thing I have ever heard. I wish someone declares his love for me like this! This is movie worthy Aunt Reese not just sitcom worthy! Gosh you're so lucky!"

Lisbon just shook her head, chuckling at her niece's enthusiasm. "You will find someone Annie. Who wouldn't love someone as special as you kid?"

Annie smiled, "I hope he is like Patrick."

Her aunt smiled. "Not entirely. But the good things, I wish he would have those. You deserve the best Annabeth."

Annie hugged her. "Thank you Aunt Reese. I wish you all the happiness. You and Patrick deserve it too."

Lisbon kissed the top of her head. "Thank you, kid. Now, get some rest. We'll go to a diner nearby afterwards. Plus, we have to celebrate in the evening."

Annie's eyes lit up, "Really?"

Her aunt just laughed, "Of course. You deserve some spoiling. Let's see to it when Jane gets back."

* * *

 **Thank you so much for reading this. Please review!**


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